NEW DELHI: Fate works in mysterious ways. A year ago, Ishan Pandita was on the books of fourth-division Spanish team Lorca FC, playing under the tutelage of former Uruguayan striker Walter Pandiani. The then-20-year-old had been in Spain for almost five years, playing for various clubs in the lower divisions and had hopes of moving up the rungs.
Then Covid-19 struck and his career was stuck in limbo. The Delhi-born striker of Kashmiri descent had no intention, at that time, of returning to his home country but FC Goa's offer was too good to turn down. With an eye on a national team call-up, Ishan decided to return home.
And his displays with the Gaurs during the ISL league stages impressed national team coach Igor Stimac as the Croatian included the youngster in the probables list for the upcoming friendlies against Oman and UAE.
"I did say that I came to India to get the national call-up. That was the intention. In Spain, I was playing, but not enough people knew about me. So I knew that if I came back home and started playing, I'd definitely catch the attention of the national coach and luckily, that's what happened," Ishan said during a virtual interaction with Goa.
The stat which stands out from his debut ISL campaign is his four goals, something he managed with his previous club as well. But that took him over 900 minutes. This time, he has played in a grand total of 56 minutes, spread across nine games! Even more impressively, all his strikes have come between the 85th and the 96th minutes with Goa trailing.
"If you told me before the season that I will get to play only 50 minutes and I'll get the national team call-up, I would not believe you. So I'm a bit lucky, thankful and excited," he joked.
He has had 27 touches of the ball, taken 8 shots and scored four times! His club coach Juan Ferrando has thrown him into the deep end time and time again, and the youngster has delivered. His teammates refer to him as a super sub! And despite not getting the chance to start, the 22-year-old has had to bide his time and keep impressing the boss whenever he has been given the chance.
"You need a strong head if you are to make it as a professional in any sport. And when you are not getting too many opportunities, you have to retain a positive mentality and be hungry to score. I've been put in high-pressure situations to perform and I've delivered. Being an Indian striker, we can definitely be on par with foreign strikers in the ISL. We need time and faith and I'm sure we can develop and in the future, be a permanent fixture in the starting XIs."
In spite of the fact that Ferrando has not given him too many minutes, Ishan is full of praise for the Spaniard. What stood out was the fact that he wants to improve even further and earn his place as a starter instead of taking the complaining route.
"Juan is a good coach. I'm thankful to him for the effort and attention he's given me in training. I've been doing my best to develop myself under his style of play and hopefully, I can get more minutes on the field."