The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a perfect platform for the young and budding cricketers to showcase their skills. They also get an opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the very best in the game besides money being a big factor.

Teenagers have bagged crores in the IPL auctions and it has always been a platform for young local cricketers.

Mandeep Singh who was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) INR for Rs 1.4 crore is no different.

Having made his IPL debut for the Kolkata Kight Riders in 2010, Mandeep proved his worth in the 2012 season for the Kings XI Punjab. He scored 432 runs in the season and finished in the top 10 highest run-getters of the tournament.

However, since that year, Mandeep’s IPL performance has been on the decline. The Punjab-based lad made his international T20 debut in 2016 against Zimbabwe. He was also picked to play England in a T20 series the very next year. But his career has quite kicked off like his contemporaries KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and many others.

The youngster missed the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 after sustaining a back injury. His comeback in domestic circuit hasn’t quite reflected his solid performances. This makes the 11^th season for him that more important to him.

While speaking to Firstpost Mandeep stressed upon the importance of preparing well in the tournament. The preparations are in full swing at the RCB camp now.

“Preparation is important and it has been good. We had one week camp, we had some good training sessions and few good practice matches. And now the whole team is practising together over here in this camp,” Mandeep said.

Meanwhile, Mandeep is eyeing a national recall by playing well in the 11th edition of the tournament.

“Yes definitely, the focus would be to score runs and make my case stronger for a comeback,” Mandeep asserted.

But he won’t let the personal milestone come in team’s way at all. For him, performance cannot be governed by where he bats.

“I am ready to bay at any number. Wherever the team wants me to play, I will bat. I am happy to play at any number,” said a confident Mandeep.

RCB had a horrendous season last year and ended up winning only three out of the 14 group matches. They also finished at the bottom of the table.

Despite their poor performance last year, Mandeep is confident of the fact that the franchise will surely put up a better performance.

Nervous Mandeep spent sleepless night ahead of second T20 win — Nervous Mandeep spent sleepless night ahead of the second T20 win. Photo Credit: Web.

“Our biggest strength is obviously batting. With the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the team, it looks quite solid. This year, we also have a good spin attack with Washington Sundar coming in along with Yuzvendra Chahal,” Mandeep concluded.

The 11^th season of IPL begins on 7^th April between the Chennai Super Kings and the defending champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, RCB plays their first match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on April 8.