FIFA World Cup Qualifiers | Focus is on team, not players, says Sunil Chhetri
India football skipper Sunil Chhetri has been of the opinion that Igor Stimac believes in improving the side as a whole and not focus on any particular players. Chhetri, who wasn’t present in the team that drew a stalemate away in Qatar, believed his absence made the players play well.
India might have lost Sandesh Jhingan to an injury ahead of their must-win match against Bangladesh, but they have got back their most consistent scorer and skipper, Sunil Chhetri. The skipper, however, downplayed his importance in the side stating that the India team has been playing holistically and one play wouldn’t really make any difference.
"It was because of my absence they played so well. That is what the players keep reminding me. This is one of the features in the team now. The focus is on the team, and not the players. If the coach (Igor Stimac) sees someone doing well in training, he will play him. That is why we did so well against Qatar. That match will prove to you that the Indian team doesn't need only Sunil Chhetri to put up a good performance," said Chettri, reported TOI.
"I'm just one of the 23 players and I'll try my best to be as good as I can be. I'm little more experienced and that is only difference with others. There is no dependency on me. If Bangladesh mark me, there will be others to break away. You can think of any starting XI right now and you might be in for a surprise tomorrow. He keeps on our toes every day. There is great competition in the team and everyone works really hard," he added.
Chhetri has already scored 72 goals for India being the country’s all-time top goal scorer and given the frequency of his scoring, he would be expected to repeat the feat yet again on Tuesday. However, Chhetri is focusing only on the three points and not who would score.
"I don't mind who scores, we just need three points," he concluded.
