Sunil Chhatri will return to the match against Bangladesh on March 25.
Indian football star Sunil Chhatri retired in Kolkata after a match against Qatar in June 2024. After his 19 -year -old international career, the biggest question in Indian football was – “Who after Sunil Chhatri?” Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the third highest active goals in the international football. Finding the option of such a big player was never easy. That's exactly what happened. In the last nine months, no player has emerged in Indian football that could take it. In such a case, Chhatti withdrew his retirement on March 6. The question was, who after Sunil Chhatri, the answer is – Sunil Chhatri himself.
“The team needs to win now and now that Chhatri is the best striker in India, there is no doubt,” said Coach Marcves.
Why is Chhruti returning?
- India will play a friendly match against Maldives on March 19. After this, Team India will face Bangladesh in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifier. At the request of Indian team coach Manolo Markves, 40 -year -old Chhattisur will play for the team in this international window of March. They will return to the field after 286 days of retirement.
- India has not won a single football match in 2024. The team lost six out of 11 matches and played five draws. In this match, the team scored 15 goals and just scored four goals.
- The association appointed Marcways as a coach after removing Igor Stimac, but during his tenure the team has scored only two goals and lost five goals. After Chhatti's retirement, India has not won a single match. Players like Lalinzyala Changte, Manveer and Listen Colasso could not become a reliable alternative to the chorus. In such a case, Marcways had no choice but to call.
The return of Chhatti shows that 13 ISL club failed Baichung Bhutinia says, 'Chhotri's return is not a good sign for Indian football. We have to rely on a 40 -year -old retired player. There is pressure to win a qualifier on the coach, but we should think long and give young people a chance. However, the return of Chhatri is good for the team. The coach has expressed confidence in it. Now it remains to be seen whether he plays for 90 minutes. There is also a big risk here for Chhatri. If India fails to qualify, the complete guilt can be imposed on them. '
Former striker says, 'Returning Chhatri reflects ISL's failure. This shows that ISL's 13 clubs have not produced a single Indian striker in the last few years that can replace the Chhatri. '
India's highest scorer in the current domestic season Even at the age of 40, Chhattri is the best striker in India. It has scored 12 goals for the Bengaluru FC in the Domestic Football League ISL, the highest in Indians this season. Since its inception in 2005, Chhatti has scored about 40 percent of Team India's goals, and between 2021 and 2024, it has scored 45 percent of the national team.
Image Credit: Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).