Tamil Thalaivas find themselves in another controversy after captain Arjun Deshwal and coach Sanjeev Baliyan made some huge statements about the team management. The franchise hogged the limelight after sacking captain Pawan Sehrawat midseason.
A month after removing captain Pawan Sehrawat, Tamil Thalaivas have been caught in a fresh wave of controversy after their new captain, Arjun Deshwal, and coach Sanjeev Baliyan made shocking revelations about the team management.
The statements came after Thalaivas went down to Bengal Warriorz 44-43 in a close contest on Tuesday, October 21. On being asked about the team’s performance and what changes he would like to see in the team if he were part of the squad in the next season, Arjun took a dig at the management, highlighting that they will win only when everyone, including the think-tank, is united.
“What will I change in the team? Everyone who is seeing from the outside and within knows what changes have to be made,” Deshwal said in the post-match press conference on Tuesday.
“You can also see on the mat, but you do not know what is happening with Arjun in the background. Only Arjun knows that. I believe in my team. But what should I tell? You have seen everything. Arjun alone cannot make the team win. The team will only win when the whole team, including the management, is together as a unit,” he added.
Meanwhile, the coach took the matter further and revealed that the team selection is not in the hands of either him or the captain, and it is the management who decides everything. “Changing the team is not in the hands of Arjun or the coach. The analyst is there. They make the team. They can only make changes. It is not in the coach’s hands. In fact, he is told what the first seven are at the start of the game. So what can Arjun or the coach really do?” he stated.
The Thalaivas had earlier sacked captain Sehrawat, citing ‘disciplinary issues’ which prompted the 29-year-old Sehrawat, who is also the India captain, to say that he will ‘quit kabaddi if proven wrong’.
“I was in the same team in Season 9, and I had undergone surgery during that time. The team owner supported me a lot, from my surgery to getting back into the Indian team. Coach Sanjeev Baliyan was also with us then, and he supported me a lot during the camps and matches,” Pawan had said in a video in reply to the franchise’s allegations.
“Arjun Deshwal and I made many plans to take the team forward, but because of one particular person in the team management, we couldn’t execute them,” he added.
