Dharmaraj Ravanan (L) and Lenny Rodrigues © ISLOver the past four years the Dharmaraj Ravanan-Lenny Rodrigues combination has flourished like no other on the Indian football circuit and helped Churchill Brothers win every major trophy that the domestic game has to offer. The list of silverware that the dynamic duo has brought home to Varca, the touristy village in South Goa where the family-run club is based, include the Durand Cup and IFA Shield (both in 2011), the prestigious I-League in 2012-13 and the fairly important Federation Cup staged in Kerala in early 2014. Their partnership began when Ravanan moved to Churchill Brothers after the Mumbai-based Mahindra United folded up in 2010.Now, the easy going Tamilian defender from Trichy and the laid-back Goan defensive midfielder are set to continue their partnership at FC Pune City in the upcoming Hero Indian Super League (ISL) and hope to replicate the success of the past. Rodrigues was the first player among the 84 available to be picked by a club at the recent domestic player draft and Pune followed that up by pocketing Ravanan in the second round to cash in on their compatibility and winning record.“It’s great to be playing in the same team as Lenny. We’ve played together for four-five years now and I know his style since I play directly behind him, and he knows mine too,” the suave stopper back who can also play along the wings, said.“The foreigners who are going to be playing in the ISL will be much better. The defenders especially will be much stronger physically and defensively. So we have to raise our standard to compete with them.”Dharmaraj Ravanan, FC Pune CityOn his part, Rodrigues, who has modelled his game on fellow Goan great Climax Lawrence (now with Atletico de Kolkata), has some good words to say about his inspirational skipper at Churchill Brothers: “He’s a good reader of the game, good man-to-man marker and a clean tackler besides.”Although the lanky 6 foot 1 inch Rodrigues is the more famous player and the mainstay of the national team with 19 caps, as well as elder to Ravanan by a couple of months (both are 27), he looks up to the latter. “We are good friends off the pitch and I take his advice on important matters,” the Cesc Fabregas fan revealed.When it comes to food there is a divergence of tastes as Ravanan loves South Indian food while Rodrigues digs the Goan staple – fish curry & rice! A Tamil movie buff and Arsenal supporter, Ravanan rates Mahesh Gawli as the best player he has played against, and Lebanese defender Bilal Sheikh El Najjarin, who was at Churchill Brothers for the first half of the 2012-13 season, as one of the best players he’s ever played with.Both however concede that they will have to up the ante against the superior breed of foreign players that they will play with and against in the ISL. But they are up for the challenge“The foreigners who are going to be playing in the ISL will be much better. The defenders especially will be much stronger physically and defensively. So we have to raise our standard to compete with them,” Ravanan said.