Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Tamil Thalaivas coach angry with captain Ajay Thakur's performance
Meraj Sheykh, Sukesh Hedge and now Ajay Thakur - three captains have failed to hit top form in Pro Kabaddi Season 5. None of their respective coaches have displayed hesitancy in dropping their captains from the first 7.
Against Haryana Steelers, Thakur managed to score just a single point. He struggled to find momentum and coach Bhaskaran sensed danger. He immediately substituted the captain following which Tamil Thalaivas put on a brave show to secure a draw against favourites, Haryana Steelers.
The Thalaivas coach believes, captains like Ajay Thakur have become too over confident because of which they end up getting tackled easily.
"There is no captaincy pressure, they are just over confident. They think when they go into a raid, they will definitely score a point. Their overconfidence is the problem. After getting caught, Ajay began to think what will the coach and fellow players think about him, he was disturbed about that," he said.
At one point, Thalaivas were leading 13-10 and looked set to cause an upset. However, their lack of depth eventually showed as apart from Prapanjan, none of their other raiders were able to truly test Haryana's defense.
"The tempo of the game changed suddenly in favor of Haryana Steelers. Fortunately, Vikas Khandola failed to score against our two defenders in the end, and that's the reason we managed to draw the match," the coach explained.
Bhaskaran has recently come under fire for failing to pick up experienced players at the auction. Instead, he placed his faith in the younger players and decided to get in untested players into the league. He provided a valid reason for doing so.
"As a coach, I can train the new players and show them new techniques. The younger players pick it up easily. With the senior players, their movement and technique has already been established. They are used to a certain technique. I cannot change their individual technique," he stated.
The likes of Sachin for Gujarat Fortunegiants and Vikas Kandola for Haryana Steelers have been in great form for their respective teams. The Tamil Thalaivas youngsters, however, have found it hard to establish themselves in the league.
It's still early days and the coach said that he is confident that his younger players will eventually come through. Bhaskaran revealed he was never hesitant to substitute Ajay Thakur so early in the match.
"Ajay Thakur's performance was not up to the mark. When there are less than six opposition players on the mat, I knew I can use Lee and Prapanjan instead of Thakur," he signed off.