KOCHI: Playing second fiddle is never an easy or comfortable role to play and 21-year-old Prabhsukhan Gill knows that feeling all too well. A few years ago, the young goalkeeper was identified as one of the finest talents in the country after he was included in the 21-man squad of the Indian team which participated in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Throughout that historic campaign, Gill had to warm the bench as Dheeraj Singh was the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper. At the club level, he was again the understudy of Dheeraj at Indian Arrows which was the developmental project of the All India Football Federation. The squad which played at the World Cup competed in the I-League, but Gill rarely got a look in because of Dheeraj.
After Dheeraj made the switch to the Indian Super League, Gill became first-choice at Indian Arrows. However, when it was time for the Ludhiana lad to make the big switch himself, he moved to Bengaluru FC where he was again the second choice behind India international Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
A move to Blasters in 2020 didn't provide immediate opportunities as Albino Gomes remained the side's first-choice goalkeeper. However, this season has been a completely different story as Gill has broken onto the scene and even overshadowed the country's other top goalkeepers.
With six clean sheets to his name and conceding the joint fewest goals in the league, Gill has made everyone sit up and take notice and could walk away with the Golden Glove award as well. His match-winning performances this season earned him a call-up to Indian senior team's preliminary camp for the first time. Veteran football coach Eelco Schattorie, who is cautious in his praise of players called him the "best in India for the future".
And to think that it took an injury for Albino for Gill to finally get his opportunity shows how players have to bide their time without losing motivation or morale.
"I didn't play a lot in recent seasons and it was an unfortunate injury to Albino. But when you get your opportunity, you have to take it. When I started playing games (this season), no one spoke a lot about me or took note but everyone felt I had put in the hard work and it was showing. The key thing was that I never doubted myself or lost confidence and just kept training hard," Gill told The New Indian Express.
Gill has been touted as the finds of the season and after his assured performances, the youngster looks to have sealed his spot as the first choice keeper of Blasters.
"Of course, playing after a long time did create a little pressure because you are expected to do well. I just take a match-by-match approach rather than looking four steps ahead. And it is about performing consistently rather than putting a few good performances and just fading away," he said.
Gill admitted that the sudden spotlight coming his way is a validation of the efforts that he is putting in. The youngster has also now thrown his hat into the ever-increasing pool of top-class goalkeepers in India. Given the compliments given by a seasoned coach like Schattorie, Gill is starting to be mentioned alongside India's top keepers like Gurpreet, Amrinder Singh, Dheeraj, Mohamad Nawaz, and others.
"Of course, all this appreciation is recognition of your hard work and it motivates you to keep pushing harder. I'm humbled by all the praise and it is a delight to be ranked alongside other great goalkeepers in the country. It is incredible that India has so many great goalkeepers in the same generation and everyone will push each other to get better," he said.