If We Meet Patna Pirates, We'll Be Ready to Settle Score: Dabang Delhi Captain

On being the best raider in PKL Season 10:

“There was no pressure, maybe just a little when Naveen was our captain at that time. He was such a senior player, such a big name, and when he couldn’t play the whole tournament, we all felt that gap. The coach and the team trusted me a lot. I had to take on more responsibility, raid more, and I just focused on that. In the end, I delivered. The first time I got the captaincy, I did feel the weight in the first couple of matches. But once I got into the flow, that pressure disappeared. I concentrated on my performance and kept improving match by match.”

On his memries of previous PKL seasons:

“When I first came in Season 8, I was the third raider. The first raider was Naveen, and the second was Vijay. Naveen was already a superstar at that time, and he even became the MVP that season. We went on to become champions. Then came Season 9, when Naveen got injured. That gave me more opportunities to play, and I did well — scoring more than 150 points.”

On being the flagbearer of do-or-die raids:

“In do-or-die raids, when the responsibility falls on me, I give it everything. Even if there are four or five of the toughest defenders in front of me, I trust myself. That’s why my strike rate in those moments has been so high.”

On playing without Naveen Kumar this season:

“This will be the first time we play without Naveen. Since I joined the team, he has always been there. Now that he’s with Haryana Steelers, we’ll definitely feel his absence — he was a star for us. But that’s how it is, and I’m sure he’ll do well there. We also have players like Neeraj Narwal, Ajinkya Pawar, Akshit, and Mohit. They’ve all shown promise, and I believe this team can still deliver the results we need.”

On his raiding technique and style of play:

“I don’t take pressure. I use the full 30 seconds, keep the defence moving around, and wait for the right moment when someone makes a mistake. Many times, I score in the last one or two seconds of a raid. It doesn’t matter who’s in front of me — if there’s even the smallest chance of a touch, I’ll go for it. My thinking is simple: if you don’t take risks, you won’t score points. That’s why, in do-or-die raids, I always attack, and that’s where many of my points come from. Every raider practices the basics — bonus, hand touch, kick, dubki, turn. I’ve worked on all of them. But in the end, it’s about making the right move at the right time. That’s what makes a skill memorable.”

On losing to Patna Pirates in the PKL Season 11 semi-finals:

“Last season’s semi-final loss still hurts us. That moment stays with me in training. Whenever I feel like stopping, I remind myself of that defeat — not again. If I’ve done 25 dips, I push for five more. If I’ve done 10 raids, I add five more. The thought is always the same: we won’t stop at the semi-finals again. Especially against Patna Pirates — they’ve beaten us in the playoffs for two years in a row. If we meet them again, we’ll be ready to settle the score.”

On his biggest rival this season:

“It has to be Mohammadreza Shadloui. He’s a strong defender and an all-rounder as well. He can be unpredictable — sometimes he stays inside, sometimes he goes wide, and sometimes he does something completely unexpected. For me though, he’s not really a challenge. My target is not to become the league’s top raider. My only goal is to qualify our team for the playoffs, then reach the semi-finals, and eventually the finals.”