Chhetri expresses concerns over ISL calendar clash with India's international campaigns
Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri, on Friday, expressed his concern over the Indian footballing calendar in light of the Indian team’s recent world cup qualifiers against Turkmenistan and Oman which coincided with the lucrative Indian Super League (ISL).
Sunil Chhetri, speaking with NDTV, slammed the fixture list of Indian football which he feels has given more importance to the ISL rather than the country’s world cup qualifiers.
The Indian national team players missed the opening matches of the ISL for their respective franchises due to their commitment with the national team in the 2018 world cup qualification campaign.
The Indian footballers were not released early enough to gain match practice ahead of their qualification matches against Oman and Turkmenistan; as a result of which the national team was under-prepared for these games and suffered heavy defeats.
The 31 year old, who is joint top goal-scorer in this season’s ISL, with Stiven Mendoza, stated that the schedule this year for the ISL should have been planned better, considering that the world cup qualifiers were scheduled in advance and that the ISL should not have been running at the same period.
In an interview with NDTV’s Nikhil Naz, the Indian football talisman said, “The hectic schedule is fine, but when there is an international match going on and still the league is running simultaneously.
"That is something which is unheard of. So that was something which I personally didn't feel great about because when we were playing away against Oman and Turkmenistan, and the ISL matches were happening over here (in India). That shouldn't have happened, but that's not in my control."
Chhetri hoped that the concerned authorities can show better planning next season. "I just hope that in the coming years, we can have a better calendar where there is a proper differentiation between the national team and the ISL or the I-League and there remains a proper calendar where the national team players do not miss out on playing for the league," Chhetri mentioned.
Chhetri grabbed the spotlight when he became the first Indian to score a hat-trick in the ISL when he netted thrice against NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) for Mumbai City FC in a 5-1 drubbing of NEUFC on October 28.
The four time AIFF player of the year was apologetic about India’s performance in the recent world cup qualifiers, and hoped that the fans kept faith in the team to deliver in the remaining matches. With the Asian Cup qualifying third round places still up for grabs, the Indian team is set to give it their all in their next match against Guam on 12 November.
0
0
0
0
0
0
Comments
Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions
0 Comments