Indian captain Sunil Chhetri's future uncertain after Bengaluru FC's ISL induction
What’s the story?
With the impending addition of Bengaluru FC into the Indian Super League fold now confirmed, the future of their players hinges in the balance. The team has some star players on their roster and a certain Sunil Chhetri stands out.
This poses a major threat to their preparations for the AFC Cup inter-zonal semifinal match against April 25 Sports Club of North Korea. The deadline for submitting the squad for the knockout tie to be played over two legs in August and September is the end of July.
Chief technical officer of Bengaluru FC, Mandar Tamhane said: “We have to submit the names to AFC by end of July. With that in mind, we hope that AIFF and FSDL will conduct the auction or draft, whatever they have planned, prior to this.”
The context
With the expansion of the ISL to include Bengaluru FC, a lot of changes are going to be seen in the Indian football scenario. BFC face the prospect of rebuilding their entire squad from scratch as in accordance with ISL rules, they are supposed to release all their players.
The heart of the matter
Chhetri was a free agent in the ISL draft back in 2015 and was bought by Mumbai City for INR 1.20 crores, the highest amount paid for an Indian player. After missing the first couple of matches of the season, Chhetri made an instant impact upon his return.
He scored a remarkable 6 goals in his first 4 games, which included a hat-trick against NorthEast United FC, the first Indian player to do so in the ISL. He was loaned back to Bengaluru FC for the following I-League season as part of an arrangement, scoring 5 goals and helping them win the title.
Chhetri, who is the captain of BFC, signed a new one-year deal with them on 9th June last year, thus reverting his ownership rights to the former I-League from Mumbai City FC. The captain of the India national football team then joined Mumbai City FC on loan for the third season of ISL.
Apart from Chhetri, Bengaluru FC have some of the biggest Indian players in their ranks, such as goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, defender Sandesh Jhingan and midfielders CK Vineeth and Eugeneson Lyngdoh. 11 players are still contracted to the Bengaluru-based club and it remains to be seen whether they will be allowed to retain any of them.
Also Read: 5 new things you will see in ISL next season
What’s next?
As things stand, all the Indian players of Bengaluru FC will be going to the draft or auction that the ISL is likely to conduct for the Indian players. Moreover, the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the governing body of the ISL will need to approve their foreign players.
Author’s take
All this chaos is an unwanted distraction for Bengaluru FC ahead of their crucial AFC Cup match and threatens to seriously dent their preparations. It is a shame really because BFC had formed a core group of players and shuffling their squad will be a serious disadvantage for them.