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Experienced defender Girish Maruti Ernak is playing for U Mumba in the ongoing edition of the Pro Kabaddi League. He was bought by U Mumba for INR 20 lakh at the PKL 2023 auction and is one of the few players who have been around since the inception of the tournament. In the ongoing season, he has played two matches for U Mumba so far and collected one point.
Ernak began his Pro Kabaddi League career with Patna Pirates in the inaugural edition of the tournament. In 12 matches, he accumulated 25 points with a tackle percentage of 33 percent. He played one more season for the Pirates before being picked by the Bengal Warriors in season 3.
His performance, however, didn’t see an exponential rise, accumulating 59 points in 23 matches. Thereafter, he played three consecutive seasons for Puneri Paltan between 2017 and 2019. His best season came with the Paltan in 2017, where he accumulated 69 points in 21 matches.
The 33-year-old is in the last stages of his career and it will be interesting to see how he performs for U Mumba for the rest of the season.
"My Kabaddi journey started in 2005" - Girish Maruti Ernak
Ahead of the PKL 2023 season, Girish Maruti Ernak shed light on his Kabaddi journey in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.
Here’s what he said:
"My Kabaddi journey started in 2005. I used to play in school. I also played cricket during my school days, but I understood that my future in cricket was not so bright. So, I joined a kabaddi club after completing my schooling. It was a local club in Kalyan near my house."
"I started playing at the club level. Then, I got selected in the Air India team. Pro Kabaddi League was not there at that time. I would play for Air India team on a contract basis. I would compete in state level or all-India tournaments. So, after playing there for some years, Pro Kabaddi League came around," he continued.
U Mumba currently sit at number seven on the points table, having won three matches out of seven. They are slated to play their next match against Bengal Warriors on Saturday.
