"No price tag will discount the practice I have done" - Maninder Singh rubbishes price tag pressure after being bought for 2.12 Cr for PKL 2023

Maninder Singh is one of the biggest names in the kabaddi circuit currently. His Pro Kabaddi 2023 Auction price of ₹2.12 Crores should be proof enough of how dangerous he can be when he gets going.

His former team - Capri Sports-owned Bengal Warriors - used the Final Bid Match (FBM) Card to reacquire his services. Maninder has now been handed over the captaincy reins once again for the 10th edition.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Maninder Singh spoke about his sense of comfort in the Bengal outfit. He also talked about having a gut feeling that he would return to his previous franchise. The celebrated kabaddi player also divulged how he partied for a week after the auction to celebrate his pick by the Warriors.

"Bengal is my home team," stated Maninder Singh. "So I felt that I would go to Bengal. I am very happy to come here. I feel very comfortable here too. I am very happy to be back. People at home were also very happy. They also wanted me to play in Bengal. I partied for a week after the auction."

Being bought back for a hefty sum of ₹2.12 Crores meant that the Warriors spent over 40 percent of their total purse on Maninder. However, the raider feels that this will not affect his performance due to his disciplined training routine over the past half year.

"Nothing like that because we have practiced a lot. We've been practicing since 6-7 months. No price tag will discount the practice I have done. So practice was the main thing. I have done that well so there will not be any price tag pressure," said Maninder Singh.

The 33-year-old also opened up on which among the youngsters can be the next Maninder Singh. He expects Nitin Kumar to be one such youngster who can steal the spotlight this season.

"Anyone can be the next Maninder Singh. Whoever works hard, he will come forward. Two or three boys are doing very well. You will know when you go to the matches. Nitin Kumar is one of them. He is doing very well," revealed Maninder Singh.

Maninder denied having any personal milestones that he thinks of achieving over the course of this season. He feels that his points will automatically increase if he contributes to the team's wins.

"No, there is nothing like that. I don't want to think of scoring 300 or 400. I will go with the team. When we will play and win more matches as a team, my individual points will automatically go up."

The Bengal Warriors lead raider also spoke about what the fans can expect from the Men in Blue this season in terms of combination.

"So earlier, two raiders used to go full throttle, one raider used to keep reviving them. So this time too, Shrikanth is very fit, and Nitin Kumar is a young boy to watch out for. So this time we will go with all three raiders and focus more on the raiding. The defense will keep doing their job," Maninder Singh said.

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"A lot of our players were injured" - Maninder Singh blames injury concerns for poor performance of Bengal Warriors in Seasons 8 & 9

The Bengal Warriors, after winning the title in 2019, have not tasted much success in the recent past. Maninder Singh claimed the reason behind it to be constant injury concerns among players, something they are working hard to ensure does not repeat this season.

"After season 7, there was a pandemic. That disturbed all the players. In season 8, a lot of our players were injured. The replacement players were not as fit. So, there was a bit of an issue with fitness. In season 9, it was the same. If someone played well, then he would get injured the next match. So this time, we are focusing a lot on fitness. It is important that no one gets injured in the camp," asserted Maninder Singh.

There is just a month-long gap between the PKL Auction and the season this time around, a duration which is usually much longer. Maninder Singh asserts that the shorter duration will not disrupt their defensive preparations as the players have played local tournaments together. The team also dedicates a few hours every day just to work on this aspect.

"The players play a lot of local tournaments, so their combination is already set. There are multiple players from Maharashtra and they play together in the local tournaments. In the evening, we practice 2-3 hours just for their combination," divulged Maninder.