Chhetri emphasises need for a challenge

Though Indian captain Sunil Chhetri credited ISL for contributing to the development of local players, he wasn’t sure of the league’s level of quality. 

Lallianzuala Chhangte, Mahesh Singh Naorem and Sandesh Jhingan are some of the names who performed well at the previous ISL and have carried that form to the national side. With bigger tournaments lined up for India in the upcoming months, the league needs to up the ante to add value for the grander scheme of things, felt Chhetri. 

“Where we want to go and what we have in six months is massive,” he said. “We will be facing Australia later this year and until the end of the season we will be playing the ISL. With due respect to ISL, we might not face the same tempo and standard Australia will bring,” added Chhetri. 

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That’s the reason having Lebanon and Kuwait as guest teams at the SAFF Championship helps in preparing for the tougher road ahead, said the 38-year-old during a press interaction on the eve of their semifinal.  “Whenever you get a chance to play matches like this, it helps. I’m really happy that the likes of Kuwait and Lebanon agreed to play here because it gives you a different idea and a different challenge.” 

Speaking about the absence of their head coach Igor Stimac in the dugout on Saturday at the Sree Kanteerava stadium, Chhetri put his faith in assistant coach Mahesh Gawli instead. 

“Not to sound cliche but you want your leader, your boss to be there at the sidelines, which is not going to happen tomorrow. Whatever little we miss of Stimac, Gawli will make sure that we miss him less. Our head coach has done almost all the prep and he has his main man there to take all the necessary steps and information along at the dugout.” 

Being the lead scorer in the tournament with five goals so far, Chhetri took his international tally to 92. Along with ignoring the commotion about his personal records, the skipper dogged away questions about his retirement. 

“I don't know when my last game for the country is going to be. It derives from the fact that I have never had long-term targets. 

“Parameters such as me contributing to the team or not, whether I am able to score goals, training as hard as I want to. These are some of the markers that will tell me whether I am good for this team or not. The day I see that it is not there, I am done, I am gone because there is not any other motivation for me to play,” he signed off.