Akashdeep aware of price-tag pressure

Striker Akashdeep Singh, who was the highest paid Indian player in the Hockey India League auction, says he is preparing himself to cope with the ‘price-tag’ pressure in the cash-rich competition.

“I was expecting a higher bid from last year’s auction, but I did not expect that I will become the highest paid Indian player. With the price there comes a high pressure to perform and I am preparing myself to cope up with the pressure and the two-field goal theory adds a bit more pressure to the forwards to perform,” said Akashdeep, who was bought for USD 84,000 by the Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the auction on Thursday. He is also looking forward to <g data-gr-id="14">play</g> with the likes of Jamie Dwyer.

“It is exciting to play alongside Jamie Dwyer as he is a legend in the sport and I will get a lot to learn from him. We have players like Ramandeep Singh, PR Sreejesh and VR Raghunath, with them I play in the national team as well so I will adapt quickly with the team. Being in the Wizards, we will try our best to perform and win the title in the coming season,” he added.