“Captain Fantastic” Sunil Chhetri comes out of retirement to help the struggling Indian team
- Anweshan Ghosh
- Mar 7
- 2 min read
The AIFF (All India Football Federation) released the 26-man Indian team squad for the upcoming set of matches.
To everyone's surprise, Sunil Chhetri, India's highest ever goal-scorer and the third most goal-scorer in international football after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, is featured in the list, making a stunning comeback to the national team after announcing his retirement last year.
The Indian captain will lead the team once again in March in India’s FIFA friendly fixtures against Maldives on 18th March and Bangladesh on 25th March in Shillong.
Indian team head coach Manolo Marquez has been preparing for the Asia Cup and wants to strengthen the team.
As per Sportskeeda, the Spanish manager felt that there was no suitable striker to lead the front line, replacing India’s iconic No. 11.
Therefore, both Marquez and Chhetri mutually agreed and came to this extraordinary decision.
"AIFF replacing Sunil Chhetri with himself is a massive error!”
While many fans are delighted to see the legend take the field once again, some are speculating whether this decision will harm the Indian team in the long run.
Sunil Chhetri is undoubtedly one of the greatest players ever produced by the nation. The 40-year-old, even at this age, is one of the most energetic athletes in India.
Since his retirement last year, the Indian team is yet to win a single game and has been struggling to cope without their goal-scoring maestro.
During this transition phase, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco, Rahim Ali, Ishan Pandita, and Vikram Pratap Singh were given opportunities to replace the 40-year-old. However, none of them were able to do so with conviction.
Therefore, Chhetri’s return could bring back the stability in the Indian team and also provide them with a reliable No. 9 once again.
However, the decision to bring him back in the team to replace himself is suspected by many to not make the team progress towards the goal of playing in the 2048 FIFA World Cup.
Chhetri, despite being the highest Indian goal scorer in ISL, has lost his flair, which is quite natural for a player of his age.
Despite coming out of retirement, the 40-year-old will have to leave the game once again, and that too quite soon.
The AIFF has been blamed for having ignored the reality and has recalled Sunil to help the team qualify for the AFC Asian Cup, possibly tarnishing the future of the Indian national team, as Sunil Chhetri replacing himself in the team is only a short-term solution.
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