"Rohit Kumar is not 100% fit, that's why he is not performing" - Former Telugu Titans coach Srinivas Reddy 

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Rohit Kumar is seen attempting a raid against Bengaluru Bulls [PC: Pro Kabaddi Instagram]

A little more than two weeks into the Pro Kabaddi 2021 season, the Telugu Titans have grabbed eyeballs and made headlines. Unfortunately for Rohit Kumar-led side, it's for all the wrong reasons.

6 matches into PKL 8, the Titans are still chasing an elusive first win and are languishing at the bottom of the Pro Kabaddi 2021 points table with 4 ties and 2 losses to show for their efforts thus far.

An injury to star raider Siddharth Desai has only compounded their woes, but at the core of their issues is their skipper Rohit's inability to make a telling impact.

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) from Patna Pirates' title-winning campaign in PKL 3, Rohit has been a pale shadow of his usual self in Pro Kabaddi 2021. His horrific campaign so far can be highlighted by the fact that he's picked up just 6 points - 2 of them tackle points - from 5 matches he's played, an almost inexcusable set of figures for a man of Rohit's stature.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Srinivas Reddy, who has coached the Indian kabaddi team and a few Pro Kabaddi sides including the Titans, breaks down the issues persistent in Rohit's style of play.

"The main thing is his fitness is an issue. He's not 100% fit, that's why he is not performing, and he's not scoring points. Secondly, he is low in confidence. When you are not 100% fit, it kills performance. I think Rohit is worried about his performance. My suggestion is when he gets to score even a single point, he should try."

Srinivas further highlighted how the captain and coach should strike an important synergy that goes a long way in fuelling a team's success.

"Rohit has to build confidence with the management and the coach, he should improve in those areas. You need to give the coach some confidence to make combinations and then Rohit should prove himself. Even if he scores 4-5 points, it is vital for the Titans. Right now he is not raiding enough, he is only standing on the mat and not making an impact."

"His injury is playing on his mind" - Srinivas Reddy on Rohit Kumar

Rohit's campaign in this edition of the Pro Kabaddi League is quite queer by his lofty standards, and the numbers certainly do not paint a pretty picture. In 5 matches he's played, Rohit has put in 22 raids out of 197 raids, only 11.11% in total for a man who's leading the side and has made a name as one of Pro Kabaddi's best raiders.

Notably, only 5 of those 22 raids have been successful, meaning he's picked up at least a point. And while an injury does make for a good addition to this entire narrative of his poor show, Reddy feels he should be replaced by a youngster who can at least fetch the Titans a few more raid points.

"Being a captain, he's not giving the correct inputs, it doesn't make a difference if he's playing or not. Instead of him a youngster can come and perform better. The management has to take that call. He's wasting one place and damaging a youngster's future."

The former Titans coach further added that the injury is also hampering Rohit's game, and hiding the injury is doing no good either.

"I think he is suffering from a back injury, raiders need core and back strength to get out from tackles, which is the issue in his case. He's trying to keep away from showing that he's injured, that's playing in his mind and not helping."

Faced with the herculean task of needing to revive their faltering campaign, the Titans will take to the mat later today against U Mumba on another Pro Kabaddi 2021 'Triple Panga' day. With PKL games coming thick and fast, the onus will be on the Titans and in particular, Rohit Kumar, to reverse their fortunes before it's all too late.

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