Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Telugu Titans' Nilesh Salunke admits his side were tired against Bengaluru
Having begun their Pro Kabaddi season 5 campaign with a comprehensive win over Tamil Thalaivas, Telugu Titans now find themselves reeling from back to back losses within a span of two days.
On Sunday, they received a drubbing at the hands of Bengaluru Bulls on their home ground in Hyderabad as the Bulls eased to a 31-21 victory.
Post the match, raider, Nilesh Salunke admitted that Telugu’s cover players let them down.
“There’s nothing wrong with the team, our cover defenders are a little nervous. We’ll practice and if our covers begin to click then we will have no problem at all. Maybe they were feeling pressurized. We weren’t supported by them,” he said.
Among all the 12 teams, Telugu Titans are the only side who have had to play three matches on the trot. Playing at home in Pro Kabaddi League seems to be a double-edged sword.
While they can bank on immense crowd support, playing three games in three days is never an ideal scenario for any player, considering the fact that this is an extremely long season.
Nilesh admitted that tiredness did play a factor in their loss but was quick to add that this issue will impact every single player in the league during their respective home games.
“Yes 100%, there is bound to be a problem when playing 3 matches in 3 days. Every player will feel tired. This problem will happen at every single venue to every single player. Minor injuries keep happening from time to time, that’s all,” he stated.
Bengaluru Bulls have previously endured a couple of torrid seasons in the league. Over the course of the last two seasons, they finished a lowly sixth and seventh respectively.
But Salunke strongly shrugged aside suggestions that the Titans displayed complacency against Bengaluru on Sunday.
“Ever since I was a kid, I have never taken anyone lightly. You can look at the way I raid, do you think I take people lightly? We still have many more games to go, you don’t feel the pressure after losing just 1-2 matches, there’s no problem,” he explained.
Telugu Titans finally have a rest day. They will once again be back in action against a solid U.P Yoddha side on Tuesday.