Delhi Dynamos FC host Kerala Blasters FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday. The Lions managed to bring to a halt their poor run of form when they snatched a point against Chennaiyin FC to avoid a seventh straight league defeat. Pratik Chowdhary has been a regular at the back line for the Lions, and he spoke to indiansuperleague.com about his journey so far and the club’s upcoming fixture.

You played for Kerala last year, now you are with Delhi. How much has the league changed in just one year in terms of the football that’s being played?

Definitely, there is a change. There is a change in a lot of things, I feel. First of all, there is benefit for the Indian players because there are more Indian players playing so there are more opportunities for Indians on the field. And the league has expanded from two-and-a-half months to five months, so that’s one more benefit. You are getting longer time to play and a longer time for recovery and get ready for matches so you can perform better.

How has ISL revolutionized Indian football?

I feel it has changed a lot. People have started watching football. Previously when there was no ISL, only football lovers used to watch football, but nowadays since the ISL has come, everyone watches it. The ones who don’t know football are getting to see the game. So, the sport is developing in India.

How easy was it to gel with your teammates on and off the pitch?

The team has become my second family now, away from home. The pre-season started in Spain and then in Qatar we gelled together and worked together. We trained together twice a day. So things are very good and now they are more like brothers to me, on and off the field.

What are you guys doing when not playing football?

When we’re not playing football, we’ll go out, we’ll watch movies and we’ll go play table tennis. We have a game room, so we have table tennis competition and a pool competition.

It’s been a rough patch for Delhi with six back-to-back losses. How is the mood in the camp after the 2–2 draw against Chennai?

The mood is very positive now. Six losses; nobody wants it. Nobody had ever thought that this would happen. Because we have played better football, but it’s just that we have been conceding goals. I feel the last game which we played was the best game we have played so far. It’s just that we have to work more on our defending and conceding from set-pieces. Hopefully tomorrow that won’t happen, and we’ll go all out for our three points and give our best.

Lastly, what are your thoughts on your game tomorrow?

Just three points. That’s the only thing on our mind now.