BENGALURU: When the Indian Super League kicked off in 2014, there were huge hopes that the franchise-based league would help improve the standards of the sport in the country.
To be fair, the league has provided a platform for several Indian players to showcase their skills and some of them impressed, creating a pathway into the national team as well. But former captain, Bhaichung Bhutia, is not pleased with the quality of ISL, especially in the last few editions.
“The way the ISL started, from season one, two... and now, the quality is definitely different,” said Bhutia at the sidelines of an event here. “Right now, honestly, I feel that there is no difference between ISL and the I-League or the second division. The standard is almost the same. If you make a team from the I-League play against the ISL club, the chance of an ISL team losing is equally there.”
The ISL is the top-tier in Indian football currently, and one would expect the Indian players to rub shoulders with foreign players too. But it has not been the case, at least in the goal-scoring charts.
Currently, Liston Colaco is the only player in the top ten this season. In the previous two editions, there has been no one on the list of top-five goal-scorers. The Sikkimese Sniper, a goal-machine during his days, believes these are not great signs.
“It is unfortunate and sad to say that we don’t have Indian players in the top-three scorers. It has not happened for a long time. When you have ISL, two to three Indian players should be in the top-five at least, but we have not had Indian strikers in top-five for several years,” said Bhutia, adding that the five foreigners in the field, if possible, may increase the level of quality in the league.
With the ISL in the final phase of the season, Indian players will also have their eyes on the third round of the AFC Asian Cup qualification, scheduled in June. India has been handed a good draw with teams like Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Hong Kong in the same group. All these teams are placed below India in world rankings, which makes the Blue Tigers one of the favourites.
The players are expected to be in good fitness after the ISL, which should augur the team well. Also, playing at home, in Kolkata, is an added advantage. “We have been quite lucky with the group. We are playing at home in India so I expect us to qualify. It is not going to be easy, everybody will need to work hard. I think they cannot have any excuse if they cannot make it because it is not like in the past, where you get tough teams,” said Bhutia.