Our players need more match time to reach a level of excellence, says Sunil Chhetri
After coach Igor Stimac, team skipper Sunil Chhetri has also reiterated the need for Indian players to play at least 50 games a season to stay at a good performing level consistently. He also suggested clubs to play one another with their benched and reserve players to get more game time for all.
After India’s loss to Tajikistan in the very first game of the Intercontinental Cup, Stimac had stressed upon the issue him not getting match fit players in the national camp and had suggested that each player played at least 50 games in a season to stay sharp always.
Chhetri took a leaf out of it stating that he was sure the think-tanks were working towards making that possible for the players. He also pointed to the new forwards coming up with Stimac handing youngster chances and highlighting the importance of them having more games under the belt.
“Yes, I would like see a league where most of the players are playing 50 or more games. There is a way to do it and I am sure the think-tanks in our country are working on it,” said Chhetri said on the sidelines of the Intercontinental Cup on Friday, reported the Hindu.
“Most of the top players in the world play 50 or more games in a season. The players need that many games to reach a level of excellence. This applies even for the forwards. In our scenario, names like Jobby (Justin), Manvir (Singh) or Farukh (Choudhary) need to play competitive matches no matter how well they train,” he added.
Chhetri also suggested extra matches for the benched and reserve players in the Indian Super League and I-League, in order to give game time to everyone. He also said that although it would increase the travelling expenditure, it was a necessary evil.
"I don’t know if I am going too ahead of myself by suggesting that we have a match among players who do not play the official match. For example, in the ISL if we have a Chennaiyin FC versus Bengaluru FC match, there can be a separate match among those players on either side who did not get a chance to be in the first team. This can be done the very next day of the official match. The teams will have both the venue and spectators ready. This will partially escalate the cost for the travelling side but that would not be unmanageable,” he said.
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