Having ended their last season on a disappointing note, Telugu Titans are hoping to make it big in the fourth season of Pro Kabaddi League, beginning June 25, with the inclusion of major players like Sandeep Narwal.
"This year, the fourth season, every team was asked to retain two players and rest of the players were submitted to the auction. That is the process. I think going forward, that is the process that is going to be followed. So, we have retained Rahul Chaudhary and Sukhesh Hegde, our main players and submitted the rest to auction. We had been an attack team for the first three seasons. We wanted to tighten the defence this time to support Rahul and Sukhesh," Telugu Titans owner Srinivas Sreeramaneni told reporters at an event where the new team was introduced.
"In that strategy, our first pick was Sandeep Narwal who lifted the cup for Patna last season. He was available in the auction. We went after him and got him."
The team also includes two Pakistani and one Iranian players and their visas are being processed. Every team will have three foreign players and two players should be part of playing XII, he said.
Rahul Chaudhary would lead the team in the tournament. Chaudhary said they would like to let their performance on court speak for itself. Telugu Titans missed the semi-finals birth in season 3.
The matches in Hyderabad will be held from July 3 to 6 at the Gachibowli Indoor stadium. The semi-finals and finals would also be played in the city.
"The team is gelling very well. We had a long camp. I think, defensively, all positions are handpicked and obviously, we have the biggest offensive power. So, the team should do well. We have the home advantage (for finals). We have not lost a game in Hyderabad till now," Sreeramaneni said.
Replying to a query, he said two seasons of the tournament are taking place in a year as one season of the league is not being played for 90 days, which is the norm. The sponsors and others also want the game to be visible for 90 days.
