Indian strikers have to work harder to play on regular basis, opines Jeje Lalpekhlua

Ever since the Indian Super League started, the Indian clubs have spent huge in importing top-quality overseas forwards to bolster their attacking force. This has always put Indian forwards in a spot of bother, with them finding it hard to enough playing time. As per the ‘Mizo Sniper’, Indian forwards need to work harder than others to cement a place in the playing XI, but he feels that the clubs also need to give more opportunities to the Indians to see them improve as a player.

"Especially for an Indian striker, it's difficult to get a chance to play. Every team is having overseas strikers and it is hard for an Indian to get into the team. It is understandable because if you are a coach, you put the better player in the first XI. More often than not, it is the overseas striker. But coaches need to give confidence to Indian strikers. If the coach believes in you, you can invariably do well,” said Jeje Lalpekhlua, as reported by Goal.com.

"Indian strikers have to work harder than other players. If you don't score soon, it might be a problem because you will be compared to a foreign striker. The club has to give more opportunities to Indian striker ultimately. Maybe, then you will see their performances improve,” added the International.

Jeje Lalpekhlua has been one of the top strikers for India in the past decade, having already scored 23 goals for India so far. His trophy-laden club career saw him win the I-League with Mohun Bagan and also a couple of ISL titles with Chennaiyin FC. A lingering knee injury forced him to miss out on the 2019-20 ISL, having undergone surgery before the start of the season.