What Sunil Chhetri's comeback tells about Indian football

Described as a wise decision by the sports national federation Sunil Chhetris return from international retirement at 40 is certainly an acknowledgement of his greatness in Indian football but more strikingly it lays bare the paucity of quality strikers in a country of over 14 billionNo amount of praise is too high for the man who has served the national team with distinction for nearly two decades eventually ending his glorious career as Indias highestever goal scorer with 94 strikes to his nameWhen he called time on his international career in May last year Chhetri was the worlds third leading scorer among active players behind Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentine icon Lionel MessiBut his long list of achievements in the sport is one thing and his coming out of retirement within a year is another The surprise comeback raises a fair number of questions on whether Indian football can ever graduate from being a Sleeping Giant as once described by FIFAIts a good decision form the teams point of view You are asking me that you are calling back a 40yearold to play for national team but there have been similar instances in the pastWe have been trying so hard to find good strikers but unfortunately we have not succeeded so far Most of the top strikers in the ISL are foreigners so that is how it is conceded the legendary I M Vijayan in a conversation with PTI trying to strike a balance between finding the positives and being mindful of realityAccording to the All India Football Federation AIFF Chhetri was coaxed out of retirement by national team head coach Manolo Marquez who urged him to join his old teammates for the crucial final round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiersPeople in the top rung of the AIFF are convinced that the right move has been made by head coach who is also doing duty as FC Goas gaffer in the ongoing Indian Super LeagueSince his retirement he had continued playing for Bengaluru FC in the ISL He has so far scored 12 goals from 23 matches this season to become its highest Indian goalscorer and it is this performance graph that has driven Maacuterquez to get in touch with ChhetriHis form in the ISL in which he has also made two assists besides finding the back of the net a dozen times has also impressed AIFF president Kalyan ChaubeySunils leadership qualities are unmatched A player of his stature can motivate the entire team His form too has been impeccable in the ISL scoring 12 goals and India can greatly benefit with a striker like him Chaubey saidLike Chaubey AIFF secretary general Anilkumar P too preferred to look at the positive side of the move and so did the legendary VijayanIts a wise decision on part of the head coach to include Sunil Chhetri based on the technical data we received from our experts Anilkumar told PTIIn the ongoing Indian Super League Chhetri is performing consistently His inclusion will definitely strengthen the Indian national teamWe have some important matches coming up soon We are fully aligned with the coachs decision and hopefully Chhetri can contribute much more to the national team so that we can move to the next level of the Asian Cup 2027 Anilkumar addedChhetri who made his international debut in 2005 and left the scene as Indias mostcapped player has been included in Marquezs list of 26 players for the March FIFA international windowVijayan currently the head of the AIFFs technical committee sounded excited when asked to share his views on Chhetris returnYou look at Roger Milla who came out of retirement at 38 to help Cameroon qualify for the quarterfinals of 1990 World Cup Age is not a factor what matters is fitness and Sunil remains extremely fit and he is also playing very well he saidChhetris retirement had made headlines with FIFA world footballs global governing body leading the outpouring of tributes for the Indian talismanFIFA had earlier in 2022 released a documentary on the longserving Indian captainTitled Captain Fantastic it had three parts iquest kick off midgame and extra timeMarquez who took over the reins after Chhetris retirement has not any luck with his strikers as they have not really deliveredIn his first assignment in the InterContinental Cup India were held to a goalless draw by Maldives and suffered a 03 defeat to SyriaIn the friendly internationals against Vietnam and Malaysia India managed two 11 stalematesGoing ahead the Blue Tigers will play a friendly match against Maldives on March 19 in preparation for the opening match of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round against Bangladesh on March 25India have been placed in a qualifying group alongside Bangladesh Hong Kong and Singapore for the Asian Cup In the tournaments previous edition India had a disappointing run failing to progress past the group stage after losing all their matchesWith agency inputs