Pro Kabaddi League | Thalaivas need fresh blood to improve our performance this season, says Ajay Thakur

Ajay Thakur, India's captain and the only kabaddi player to receive the Padma Shree, has revealed that more young blood is needed in the Tamil Thalaivas squad if they want to perform well in the upcoming season seven of the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League that is scheduled to start on July 19. The Chennai-based franchise is now two seasons old in PKL but have failed to impress on both occasions having finished last in both seasons.

"Experience alone cannot win you matches. We need fresh blood to improve our performance in the upcoming season.

"Their faith provides me a responsibility and an opportunity as well to build a stronger outfit which cannot only dream big, but is even committed towards achieving it,"  Thakur told TOI in a recent interview after he was retained by the Chennai-based team.

When it comes to the Indian kabaddi team, the 32-year-old former national captain has opined that India are still the team to beat despite their first-ever loss in the Asian Games final to Iran last year. Having said that, Thakur added that the Iranian players are definitely a step ahead as far as fitness was concerned.

"It was a one-off loss for us and we are still the world's strongest team. Earlier we did not have third do-or-die raid or bonus points. The addition of these new rules since the phenomenal rise of PKL has made the sport really fast," he said, adding that a player's level of fitness needed to be at an optimum to succeed.

"Take the example of Iranian players. They are one of the most successful lots in PKL thanks to their major emphasis on fitness," added Thakur.