Known to possess a brilliant volley in his heyday, former India captain and star striker Bhaichung Bhutia has delivered another telling volley, albeit of a verbal nature, to the Kalyan Chaubey-led All-India Football Federation (AIFF) regarding the highly delayed Indian Super League (ISL).

On Tuesday, India’s distressed football players, led by striker Sunil Chhetri, defender Sandesh Jhinghan, and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, among others, issued a joint plea to the authorities to get the ISL season underway. The plea comes after the AIFF revealed that they did not receive any bids for ISL’s commercial rights following their Request for Proposal (RFP) for a 15-year contract to monetise the League’s commercial and media rights. Bhutia felt that there is no point in the players pleading with the administration. “I can understand the feelings of the players, the clubs and everybody, especially the football fans in India. But I think it’s really high time, if there is any respect [for the players, the game or its fans], then [AIFF President] Kalyan Chaubey should simply resign,” Bhutia, 48, told mid-day very matter-of-factly on Tuesday.