Sunil Chhetri’s 100: Indian football fraternity applauds the captain’s milestone

A flood of wishes came Sunil Chhetri's way as he played, and scored in, his 100th match for India in Mumbai on Monday.

By: Sports Desk | Updated: June 5, 2018 1:18:38 pm
Sunil Chhetri scored two goals as India beat Kenya 3-0. (Express Photo by Kevin D’Souza)

It is quite rare to see an international friendly involving India generating the kind of buzz that could be seen during the match against Kenya on Monday night. The match was part of the Intercontinental Cup, a tournament that is chiefly intended to serve as a step in preparations for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. It also marked captain Sunil Chhetri’s 100th game in Indian colours and was preceded by a heartfelt message that the 33-year-old put out through a video on Twitter asking more people to turn up for matches in which the national team is playing.

Chhetri’s milestone was the focus in both, the buildup and the aftermath of the match and there were a number of notable individuals who sent in their best wishes to the Bengaluru FC forward.

Indian players:
Chhetri has pretty much been a constant in the Indian team for the better part of the decade that has gone by and so almost every player who have played in that period have invariably shared a dressing room with him.

Sandesh Jhingan, Pritam Kotal, Anas Edathodika and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu formed the nuclues of the defence that prevented the Kenyans from scoring on Monday night.

Subhashish Bose and Jeje were also part of the starting XI. Jeje scored the only other goal apart from Chhetri’s brace.

Rino Anto, CK Vineeth, Daniel Lalhlimpuia and Rahul Bheke may not have been part of the Indian team on Monday but have shared a dressing room with Chhetri as part of the national team and Bengaluru FC.

Stephen Constantine has rarely been one for the sensational. He chose to thank the fans who turned up to cheer for India.

 

Bhaichung Bhutia and fellow Indian legend IM Vijayan were both there to commemorate Chhetri. Chhetri often refers to Bhutia as his mentor and has spent a good part of his career under the latter’s captaincy.

Bengaluru FC teammates:
Chhetri’s overseas Bengaluru FC teammates also sent in wishes that the club tweeted.

Finally, there were the fans:

Chhetri may be a fan favourite with Bengaluru FC, who share a fierce rivalry with Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters FC, but such is the value of his milestone that all club lines were blurred.

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