Interview with Ronit Banda, quarterback for the Hyderabad Skykings (EFLI)

American football landed upon Indian shores with the Elite Football League of India and its first season last year. There were city-based franchises, including teams from Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The Hyderabad Skykings are a new, young team that is looking to make its mark in the upcoming second season of the league and I caught up with their star quarterback, Ronit Banda. 20-year-old Ronit after playing with the Kolkata Vipers in the first season, will be turning out for the Skykings in the second season.

So Ronit, Karthik told me you’re an engineering student, where do you study and what are you into?

Yes, I’m an engineering student, currently in my third year at Arora’s Engineering Institute in Hyderabad. I study Compurter Science there, C.Sc.

Are you a resident of Hyderabad Ronit, or are you here for your studies?

Actually I’m originally from Canada, but yes, I am a resident of Hyderabad.

How did your first interaction with the EFLI happen?

At first, I found the team, the Hyderabad Skykings team. We weren’t a team at first, it became a complete team only this year. Last season I got selected to play on the Kolkata Vipers team and that’s where I played my first season.

My first interaction with EFLI was pretty good, no problems or anything. The salaries were paid out and time, it was good.

Who was it from the Kolkata team or from EFLI that contacted you first?

Well my coach, Praveen Reddy, from the Hyderabad team, he was the man in-charge. There were just 9 players in the team initially, and we were thus merged with some other teams to form the Kolkata team.

When you were first approached to play in the EFLI, what was it that went through your mind? What did you think about this concept?

The whole EFLI thing was about football, so it wasn’t new since when I was in Canada I used to play football regularly there as well as here. So, I knew about the game and the first season last year went pretty well. It was pretty much what I expected it to be, nothing less, nothing more. So, overall yes, it was a good season.

Which was about the question I was going to ask, how long have you been playing football?

When I was in Canada, I played there till 12th grade from 10th grade onwards. The first time was in the United States, where I studied 10th grade before moving to Canada for 11th and 12th grade.

And since joining college, have you continued playing?

Yes, I’ve been continuing playing here. We have practice in the mornings and then we go to college.

Do you also have a college team or anything?

No, we don’t have a college team. The EFLI is the first team I’m playing for India.

So, you’re a quarterback right. Tell us a little bit about how important it is and the position as such in the team.

Actually, being the quarterback is quite a big thing. You have to lead the team and you have to have some leadership qualities and people kind of look upto you for stuff. So yes, its stressful, but being a person who can handle stress and as someone who is patient, I can handle it pretty well.

So yes, you need to have a broad view of the field and play hard, make sure that everyone does the right thing, because if they don’t do the right thing, you kind of lose options in the field.

And also, not everything always goes according to plan, so you kind of have to be on top of the plays and make the necessary changes whenever you’re plans are not going well. I have to communicate with the rest of the team on this, something’s not working according to plan, they have to let me know so that I can change it up.

Let’s say if the defenders are too close to the receivers, I can get them the ball. So I tell them to come inside a little bit more, so that I can throw them the ball. So, little things like that.

Yes, even if you look at the NFL, some of the most famous names are quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Any famous quarterbacks that you idolize or have tried to base your game upon?

Well, not a single player in particular. But I do like Peyton Manning a lot. He is like my idol right now. And also, have you heard of Cam Newton, he’s like my role model. Especially, the running around and how he makes his plays with the ball and all that.

American football, in general, a lot of the game is about gaining yards right. Since the game is new in India, people have found it a little hard to understand this, more than certain other American sports. Could you explain that a little bit?

Basically, the game starts off with the kick-off, just like rugby. And then, the receiver who collects the ball just runs, runs till he gets tackled covering some distance in the process. Wherever he gets tackled, you have to cover 10 yards from that point, and you get four chances. Each chance is called a ‘down’, so you get like first down, second down and so on.

In those four downs, you got to cover 10 yards, which might sound easy, but it really is not because you have got offense and defense. And the quarterback is trying to find the receivers and the running backs are trying to find the gaps to run into, a whole lot of things.

The field is about 110 yards in length, so you have to cover 10, 10 yards and make ground, close to anything between 50 to 60 yards at least to get a touchdown. Most receivers run at least 30 yards and thus, you have to cover the rest, the 80 or 70 yards for a touchdown. That’s a basic overview of the game.

What do you think is one of the most important skills for a quarterback to have?

I think, obviously, the ability to think fast and make quick decisions, because you got to know where everyone is even before you receive the ball and if it doesn’t work out, you got to figure out something else fast and just move on before the defense is all over you.

The basic skillsets so then would be patience and your ability to make quick decisions. If you can throw the ball and you’re fast, but can’t think fast, then there’s no point because you would make a lot of wrong decisions. And once you make a wrong decision, that’s it, you turn it over.

The first season, you played with the Kolkata Vipers, how did the team perform?

Actually, it was a little embarrassing, because we didn’t win any games at all. It was pretty bad. There was a lot of communication issues because there was the Hyderabad team, about nine guys and then we had the Kolkata team with about 10 or 11 guys and then we had the Rajasthan team with another six guys. And there were a couple of Sri Lankan players, so basically we had four teams in one team.

So the coach must have had a tough time putting everything together?

Yes, the Hyderabad coach was the head coach of the Vipers team. We had no choice too since it was just the first season, and everyone was just concentrating on going out and playing the game and showing what the game is all about. So, yes that’s why the first season was a little disappointing from a performance perspective.

So, it’s not a new team as such, just the Vipers team being rechristened as the Hyderabad Skykings?

No, this is a whole new team. Only players from Hyderabad are part of this team now. The nine players from Hyderabad who got selected last year to play for the Vipers are part of this team and there are more Hyderabad players in it. So, it’s a totally new team with new players.

Could you tell us a little bit more about the owner of your team, Dr. Venkatesh Movva? Have you met him in person?

Yes, I have met him. We had a couple of games this past year, we had three exhibition games against Bangalore. And as you know, Bangalore went to the semi-finals last year. And we beat them three times out of three. So you know, with a new team, we played the semi-finalists from last year and we beat them three times.

So any particular tactic or strategy that you put to good effect to get these three wins against Bangalore?

I think I read the defense well. This past year during the summer vacation, I went to Canada for training and I learnt a lot there. Basically, that helped me to read the game a little better, especially their defense and kind of figured out what they were doing.

It’s wasn’t easy, but we managed to use some small tricks here and there to get the job done.

You did mention that you lost all your games last season and it must have been hard, but what was the most enjoyable match of the lot for you?

This might sound bad, but I think the one against the Pakistan team was the one. It was pretty intense and though we lost, it was a pretty cool game. It was very passionate, tough encounter and both sides played hard.

Do you play any other sport other than football?

I run track, I’m into athletics, I run the 200 metres. There are other games such as basketball, tennis and badminton that I play on the side. But these two are the ones I take seriously, as in football and track – the 200 metres.

So, apart from football, which is the one American sport that you follow a lot?

I follow basketball.

And do you have a favourite team in the NBA?

It might sound very clichéd and all, but I like the Miami Heat. And I’m not like a new fan, I’ve always been a fan of them even before this recent period.

Any players that you particularly like a lot?

LeBron James and Blake Griffin, because I like his dunks and stuff.

So, if you were to sum up your entire experience of playing in the first season of the EFLI, what would be the biggest takeaway? How has it helped your career and your life?

I would say the experience was good and I’ve had no problems so far. I think, once it gets a little more organized and once we get sponsors and stuff, which is what they’re working on, I guess, at the moment. They had Kurt Warner come over for one of the Hyderabad games and we had Mark Wahlberg come over and he too is putting in some money for the EFLI.

So far it’s been a good journey and I’m looking forward to see what the second season offers.

What are your expectations from the second season with the new team?

Basically, all the teams have now kind of noticed us. The MVP from the first season, Roshan Lobo was from Bangalore, and then the Best Receiver I think was also from Bangalore and apart from that they had a lot of star players and we managed to beat them three times already. So, a lot of teams have eyes on us.

The players from Hyderabad are not all athletes you know, every single one works hard every day. And that’s why I think all the hard work is paying off.

Do you think American football can take off in a large way in India?

I think so yes, especially since WWE is pretty popular. It has elements of destruction and fighting and stuff you know, and football too does have a little bit of that. And it’s just like chess, but with human people. That would be fun right, more action. Once they start getting a wind of the rules probably, the crowd should grow further. Because every time, at each of the exhibition games that we played this season, there were more and more people.