Baskaran expects Chennai to keep improving as season progresses

Tamil Thalaivas will be looking to build on the first win of their maiden VIVO Pro Kabaddi campaign on Wednesday when they take on Haryana Steelers at The Arena in Ahmedabad. The Thalaivas began the season with back-to-back defeats but picked up their first win against Bengaluru Bulls in their last outing.

The win against Bengaluru saw several new Thalaivas faces step up to the plate and take the game by the scruff of its neck to romp home. And Thalaivas coach K Baskaran believes that it indicated how strong their substitutes are, factoring in off-days on the mat for their primary raiding duo Ajay Thakur and K. Prapanjan.

“We have Dong Geon Lee [who scored four points in the last match], Vineet Kumar [who also had four points] and a lot of youngsters as well. We have a good bench strength. They do not have that much experience but they will perform well in the second half of the campaign,” Baskaran told prokabaddi.com in an exclusive interview.

He revealed another trick up their sleeve in the form of youngster Sarang Arun Deshmukh, who is currently nursing an injury. “Sarang Arun Deshmukh [is another name]. He will definitely surprise us in the future. He has some injury [at the moment] but he will definitely surprise everyone as a raider in the future games,” Baskaran said.

Commenting on if the final being held in Chennai brings any added motivation to the Thalaivas players, Baskaran said: “I told the boys to give their 100 percent in every game they play. If they play well they will definitely reach the final.”