NEW DELHI: Described as "a wise decision" by the sport's national federation, Sunil Chhetri's return from international retirement at 40 is certainly an acknowledgement of his greatness in Indian football but more strikingly, it lays bare the paucity of quality strikers in a country of over 1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old Chhetri was included among the 26 probables for the international friendly against Maldives on March 19 and the Group C opener of the Asian cup qualifiers against Bangladesh on March 25 in Shillong, the Times of India reported adding, India, without a win in the whole of 2024, have been clubbed with Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore with only the top team making it to the continental showpiece in Saudi Arabia.
Head coach Manolo Márquez announced his 26-member squad on Thursday, and it included Chhetri, who will be 40 years, 7 months and 16 days old when India play the Maldives in a friendly on March 19, The Indian Express reported.
Dubbed the Blue Tigers, the team will then proceed to play the opening match of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 qualifiers final round against Bangladesh on March 25 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong. India’s qualification group includes Hong Kong (China), and Singapore for the Asian Cup, where the national team has never progressed past the group stage after losing all their matches in the previous edition, the IE added.
The report further said that the All India Football Federation’s official social media handle quoted Márquez as saying, “The qualification for the Asian Cup is very crucial for us. Given the importance of the tournament and the matches ahead, I discussed with Sunil Chhetri about making a comeback to strengthen the national team. He agreed, and so we have included him in the squad.”
Meanwhile, the PTI reported that no amount of praise is too high for the man who has served the national team with distinction for nearly two decades, eventually ending his glorious career as India's highest-ever goal scorer with 94 strikes to his name.
When he called time on his international career in May last year, Chhetri was the world's third leading scorer among active players, behind Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentine icon Lionel Messi.
But his long list of achievements in the sport is one thing, and his coming out of retirement within a year is another.
The surprise comeback raises a fair number of questions on whether Indian football can ever graduate from being a "Sleeping Giant", as once described by FIFA.
"It's a good decision from the team's point of view. You are asking me that you are calling back a 40-year-old to play for national team, but there have been similar instances in the past. We have been trying so hard to find good strikers, but unfortunately, we have not succeeded so far. Most of the top strikers in the ISL are foreigners, so that is how it is," conceded the legendary I M Vijayan in a conversation with PTI, trying to strike a balance between finding the positives and being mindful of reality.
According to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Chhetri was coaxed out of retirement by national team head coach Manolo Marquez, who urged him to join his old teammates for the crucial final round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
People in the top rung of the AIFF are convinced that the right move has been made by head coach, who is also doing duty as FC Goa's gaffer in the ongoing Indian Super League.
Since his retirement, he had continued playing for Bengaluru FC in the ISL.
He has so far scored 12 goals from 23 matches this season to become its highest Indian goal-scorer, and it is this performance graph that has driven Márquez to get in touch with Chhetri.
His form in the ISL, in which he has also made two assists besides finding the back of the net a dozen times, has also impressed AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey.
"Sunil's leadership qualities are unmatched. A player of his stature can motivate the entire team. His form too has been impeccable in the ISL, scoring 12 goals, and India can greatly benefit with a striker like him," Chaubey said.
Like Chaubey, AIFF secretary general Anilkumar P too preferred to look at the positive side of the move, and so did the legendary Vijayan.
"It's a wise decision on part of the head coach to include Sunil Chhetri based on the technical data we received from our experts," Anilkumar told PTI.
"In the ongoing Indian Super League, Chhetri is performing consistently. His inclusion will definitely strengthen the Indian national team."
"We have some important matches coming up soon. We are fully aligned with the coach's decision and hopefully Chhetri can contribute much more to the national team so that we can move to the next level of the Asian Cup 2027," Anilkumar added.
Chhetri, who made his international debut in 2005 and left the scene as India's most-capped player, has been included in Marquez's list of 26 players for the March FIFA international window.
Vijayan, currently the head of the AIFF's technical committee, sounded excited when asked to share his views on Chhetri's return.
"You look at Roger Milla, who came out of retirement (at 38) to help Cameroon qualify for the quarterfinals of 1990 World Cup. Age is not a factor, what matters is fitness, and Sunil remains extremely fit and he is also playing very well," he said.
Chhetri's retirement had made headlines with FIFA, world football's global governing body, leading the outpouring of tributes for the Indian talisman.
FIFA had earlier in 2022 released a documentary on the long-serving Indian captain.
Titled 'Captain Fantastic', it had three parts -- kick off, mid-game and extra time.
Marquez, who took over the reins after Chhetri's retirement, has not any luck with his strikers as they have not really delivered.
In his first assignment in the Inter-Continental Cup, India were held to a goalless draw by Maldives and suffered a 0-3 defeat to Syria.
In the friendly internationals against Vietnam and Malaysia, India managed two 1-1 stalemates.
Going ahead, the Blue Tigers will play a friendly match against Maldives on March 19 in preparation for the opening match of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round against Bangladesh on March 25.
India have been placed in a qualifying group alongside Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and Singapore for the Asian Cup.
In the tournament's previous edition, India had a disappointing run, failing to progress past the group stage after losing all their matches.
