Pawan Sehrawat has been ruled out for the season, with Tamil Thalaivas confirming the news on social media. The Thalaivas star had picked up a knee injury in the season-opener against Gujarat Giants, and has undergone surgery for the same, thus ruling him out for the entirety of PKL 9. He will continue his rehabilitation with the team.
Pawan noted that he'd done his best to attempt to play this season in a post on his Instagram profile:
"Despite all of my efforts and thoughts to give it a try this season without surgery, unfortunately it won't be possible for me to play this season.. The surgery was successful and i would like to thank Tamil Thalaivas owners and Management for extending all of their support to me."
"I specially mention my family and all my fans to always stay by my side and support me.. I will be in my rehab process soon and will keep you all updated on the process to be back on matt and play Kabaddi. Keep me in your wishes and blessings to recover soon."
Tamil Thalaivas can confirm that Pawan Sehrawat will miss the remainder of the vivo Pro Kabaddi season.
The 26-year-old raider suffered a knee injury during the first match of the season against Gujarat Giants and has since undergone successful surgery (1/2) pic.twitter.com/r6M4jAohqB
- Tamil Thalaivas (@tamilthalaivas) November 5, 2022
This is quite the blow for Tamil Thalaivas, who spent a record Rs 2.26 crore on bringing the superstar to the team this season, as well as making him captain. His injury in the season opener was initially deemed not as serious, with coach J. Udaya Kumar even being hopeful of a speedy return. "He should be back in 2-3 days," he said in the post-match conference.
In Pawan's absence, the team has had a mixed season so far, with Tamil Thalaivas second from bottom in the Pro Kabaddi League standings with 23 points, albeit having played a game fewer than their competition. A score difference of -24 though, remains concerning.
PKL 9 debutant Narender has stepped up however, with the raider scoring 99 points from 9 games so far, placing him fourth in the raid points standings for this season. However, Ajinkya Pawar's 22 points are the next-highest in the team. It remains to be seen how Tamil Thalaivas cope with the absence of Pawan Sehrawat, in a bid to make the playoffs.