Even if Sunil Chhetri was 87-year-old grandfather he deserves to play, feels India coach

Sunil Chhetri's return to the Indian men's team less than a year after announcing his retirement from international football raised a few eyebrows. Viren Rasquinha, former captain of the Indian hockey team, was among the many who wasn’t too pleased about Chhetri's (Indian team's) change of mind.

"No matter how much I love Sunil Chettri, the very fact that a 40-year-old has to even consider coming back from retirement to lead the national team forward line speaks volumes of where Indian football is at the moment," Rasquinha posted on X.

This thought was relayed to head coach Manolo Marquez on the eve of India's friendly against Maldives in Shillong. Marquez replied: "If you check the scorers in the ISL, it is clear who is the Indian player with the most goals."

The Spaniard then made a comment, shrouded in dark humour, that made perfect sense to Rasquinha's rant. "The national team is not about developing players. Developed players have to arrive here. If we need to win games, we have to call the players who are in a better shape.... it doesn't matter if the player is 20, 40, or my grandfather, who is 87," Marquez said, smirking.

Just as the coach said, 40-year-old Chhetri is indeed the leading Indian goalscorer in the ISL this season. The Bengaluru FC forward has 12 goals from 24 matches and is second in the list, behind NorthEast United's versatile Moroccan Alaaeddine Ajaraie, who has had a splendid season, scoring 23 times in 24 matches. But after Chhetri, there isn't another Indian in the top-20. Mohun Bagan Super Giant's Subhasish Bose, with 6 goals, is the next best.

That said, Marquez didn't give the impression that his 26-member squad for the two matches in the March window was built around Chhetri. "I don't know whether as a starter or from the bench. We can use six substitutions, so 17 players can play, and I think Sunil will be one of them. For sure, Sunil will play some minutes," Marquez said.

Going by the coach's reaction, Chhetri's services would be needed in the AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh on March 25 more than in the friendly against Maldives on March 19. However, India would be desperate to beat the Maldives because the Men in Blue have not won a game in 15 months, and friendly or not, a win will boost the team's morale going into the competitive fixture against the neighbours, who have bolstered their squad with the inclusion of former Premier League player Hamza Choudhury.

If and when he plays, Chhetri will make his 152nd appearance for India. With 94 goals, he is the fourth-highest international goalscorer, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (135), Lionel Messi (112) and former Iran star Ali Daei (108).