KOCHI: Kerala Blasters skipper Sandesh Jhingan could possibly be nursing a hangover after the ecstasy of guiding India to a draw against a superior Chinese side. It was Jhingan who wore the armband as the two sides played for the first time in 21 years in Suzhou. The 0-0 friendly draw was against a team trained by Marcello Lippi, Italy’s 2006 World Cup winning coach.
One week on, Jhingan is back in the bright yellow of Kerala Blasters as he prepares to lead the side against visitors Delhi Dynamos. However, besides talking about Blasters’ preparations, the reliable defender is more than interested in sitting down and reflecting on the progress of the national team.
“Really happy the way things are going,” Jhingan stated. After all, under his leadership, India surprised the Chinese with a steely performance. Kerala Blasters, too, have done well so far with a win and a draw.
“It was a tough game against China. It was an away game first of all and China is a good side with an experienced coach who won the World Cup. Now we have to build on it and it is a good thing that we are playing against tough sides,” the centre-back said.
The countdown to the AFC Asian Cup 2019 is about to begin and Jhingan, who is expected to play a vital role for India, feels the team needs more such gruelling tests. “I always believe that we need to play games like these more and more. There is no point in playing, with due respect to all teams, against Bangladesh and the like. But we need to play teams like China, Qatar, Oman and be fully ready for the Asian Cup.”
Stephen Constantine is known to pass the captain’s armband around and it was the turn of Jhingan to strap it on against China. And Kerala Blasters coach David James feels that Jhingan’s leadership is a big part of his game. “It is interesting that Stephen Constantine picked Sandesh to be the captain for the game. Because he in a way supported everything, every value that I believe in Sandesh. He captains 24x7,” he said.
However, James has other urgent matters to worry about. Blasters couldn’t make it two wins in two after they conceded an injury-time goal against Mumbai City. “It was like losing,” James said. And he clearly doesn’t want any hangovers from his key men who shone against China. “We’ve now got three players having played in that wonderful performance, but they now have to keep their feet on the ground going into the Delhi game”.
Friday’s result: Mumbai City 2 Pune City 0.