I would love to play for Thalaivas: Ranjit

It’s not difficult to comprehend the reason as he was born in Kanniyakumari and learnt the ropes of Kabaddi on his home turf before moving to Hyderabad to represent Telugu Titans and later to Ahmedabad. In a chat with this newspaper, the 26-year-old said he would be happy to move back to Chennai if Tamil Thalaivas comes calling for his services.

I’m happy to be playing in front of the home crowd in the final. Not feeling nervous. I have played seven matches this year. I couldn’t get many chances as there were more experienced raiders than me. In the seven matches I played, I did well with 48 raid points.

The coach’s role has been immense in the success of the team. Even if I or somebody else fail to make a successful raid, he keeps encouraging us. As he was a player himself, he taught us the nuances of the sport.

My current coach Manpreet Singh spotted me when I was representing the ONGC team. He was impressed with my performance and picked me for Gujarat. I’m eager to prove my mettle this season as I went unsold in the last two seasons. I played for Telugu Titans in the first two editions but didn’t get many chances.

Having been born and brought up in Tamil Nadu, I would love to play for Tamil Thalaivas next year. That would be a dream come true. My contract with Gujarat is only for one year and it is up to the management to renew it for a longer duration.

The one defender who gave me a real hard time was Sandeep Narwal of Puneri Paltan. He has a good sense of anticipation and quick reflexes.