Amarjit alongside Raynier completely changed game against Curacao, said Igor Stimac

Amarjit Singh Kiyam has been the first player from India’s U-17 World Cup Team, the Indian Arrows team, as well as the U-19 squad to make it to the senior team, and he didn’t disappoint Stimac at all. He was introduced into the game when India were trailing 1-3 and the midfield looked out of ideas with Curacao dissecting India’s defence at will in King's Cup's first match.

Amarajit, alongside Raynier, brought in the much-needed vibrancy in the midfield that reduced Curacao’s lethality thereby giving Sahal Abdul Samad all the freedom in the world to go up. Although India couldn’t change the score line, they were easily the better side on the second half, and the coach couldn’t stop praising the players.  

"I'm really impressed with how he looks on the pitch, and how mature he looks with respect to his age. The way he plays is something which gives us hope. He along with Raynier (Fernandes), completely changed the game against Curacao," the Croatian stated, reported AIFF.

"He is among the players we rely on. All of them have good abilities, and we will work on advancing their game as they are our future," he added.

Amarjit’s rise has been meteoric in the last two years. He started as the captain of the Indian team in the U-17 World Cup, before leading the Indian Arrows for two seasons, and has now a successful senior team debut. He has been in the radar for long now, and also revealed that there were offers from club that he turned down as he wanted to progress in a systematic manner.

"There was an opportunity to play for a big club, but I thought that my development would be better if I stayed with the Arrows. I feel it's better to grow step-by-step than making a sudden leap. Playing in the Hero I-League was amazing as I got the chance to play regularly against seasoned professionals, and it helped me learn more about reading games and understanding specific situations,” he said.