‘Thanks for the pranks, Sunil’

For someone who is the most intense player on the national team itrsquos almost impossible to think that Sunil Chhetri has an extremely funny side to himMoments after India captain and star striker Chhetri announced on social media that he will be retiring after the World Cup Qualifier against Kuwait on June 6 former India midfielder Steven Dias recalled the fun in the sun with his lsquopartner in crimersquoldquoSunil and I became room partners by fate Back in 200405 when we were both new to the Indian team setup Sunil was notorious for not sleeping through the night as he used to play video games so no one wanted to be his room partner Somehow I got picked but as soon as I got to know him our partnership struck and we were inseparable roommates for the next decaderdquo Dias 40 who is currently the assistant coach of Indian Super League outfit Jamshedpur FC told midday over the phone from Jamshedpur last eveningSteven DiasAnnouncing his retirement via a video message on social media platform X Chhetri 39 said ldquoThe feeling in the last 19 years is a nice combination of duty pressure and immense joy I never thought individually these are the many games Irsquove played for the country this is what Irsquove done good or bad but this last oneandahalf two months I did it and it was very strange I did it because I was going towards the decision that this game this next game is going to be my lastrdquoChhetri got a tad emotional during his brief message and Dias said that this was in stark contrast to the crazy things they did as teammates back in the day ldquoIn the team bus Sunil would go around speaking like the famous radio jockey Jeeturaj and interview the senior players and make jokes on them He would mimic the seniors and even the coaches on their faces and no one objected because thatrsquos how good he was It was fun being around Sunil and Irsquom grateful to him for all those pranksrdquo added DiasAlso Read Still great at 38 Sunil Chhetri wont stop so soonChhetri is known to be a complete team man not just on the field but off it too insisted Dias ldquoI remember at the 2006 Doha Asian Games there was a small theatre in the Athletes Village where we used to go to watch English movies Now many of our players didnrsquot understand the language but Sunil would make them all sit around him and translate every dialogue in Hindi loudly for all to hear and understand He wanted the team to do everything togetherrdquo said DiasThen in 2011 came the captaincy armband and the responsibility changed Chhetri ldquoI was with Sunil in the Indian team till 201314 and he did become a bit more serious after he was made captain But his competitive streak never changed He trained harder than everyone and was highly competitive even during training Once I remember we got back from training and Sunil was furiously doing situps and pushups and I asked him why He replied that another striker had scored a goal during training and he feared that the coach would start the next match with that player over him Hersquos brilliant at table tennis cricket and basketball and hates to lose If you beat him he will practice and get back at yourdquo explained DiasFinally Dias doffed his hat to Chhetrirsquos discipline ldquoBack in the day when dietary restrictions were unheard of Sunil was the only guy who would keep on researching the Internet to know whatrsquos good and whatrsquos not good for the body He would scold us if we ate ice cream or candies His longevity is proof of his dedication and disciplinerdquo Dias signed off94No of international goals scored by Sunil Chhetri thirdhighest among active players