Chhetri the goalgetter back at 40, but bigger challenge looms for Blue Tigers

When Sunil Chhetri walked away from international football last June amid a deluge of emotions, it looked improbable that the prolific goalgetter would ever get a chance to increase his tally of 94 goals. It became 95 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong to give the biggest context to India’s 3-0 win over a weak Maldives in a Fifa international friendly on Wednesday.

 The win will lift the Blue Tigers’ morale as they start their campaign in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers against Bangladesh on 25 March – but a look at the bigger picture shows there is not much to cheer about. It was after 15 months that the senior Indian team recorded a win, their first under new head coach Manolo Marquez and it took a 40-year-old to step out of his international retirement after 286 days.

 Ever since Chhetri was named among the probables for the qualifiers, his decision provoked nothing short of an outrage – even among a lot of his fans. Many saw it as the ageless warrior using this opportunity to increase his tally of goals as he stood fourth in the list of all-time high goalgetters’ list among active international footballers.

It seemed that Chhetri, who ended as the second highest scorer in the recently concluded Indian Super League (ISL) with 12 goals for Bengaluru FC, had never left.  He guided a Liston Colaco cross from the left into the net with a swift header in the last quarter of the match – drawing the largest cheers.

 When grilled about the move to coax Chhetri out of retirement earlier, Spanish coach Marquez was candid enough to admit that he needed goalgetters and age would not be any bar for Chhetri – given his decisiveness in front of the goal in the ISL.

 Meanwhile, Bangladesh, historically considered to be an easy meat for India - have decided to put their best foot forward by including Premiership midfielder Hamza Choudhury in their ranks. The 27-year-old, currently on loan from Leicester City to Sheffield United, has been making headlines after he opted to represent Bangladesh, the country of his mother’s heritage, over England last December.

Media reports from Dhaka says Choudhury received a hero’s welcome on Wednesday, greeted by fans who celebrated his first senior international call-up. ‘’It’s something I’ve definitely always had in the back of my mind that I’d like to represent Bangladesh — and the people of Bangladesh more importantly,’’ Choudhury added. 

Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera expressed confidence in Choudhury’s potential impact on the team. Speaking to reporters at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Cabrera stated: ‘’Of course, it is a great strength to have Hamza, a player from the English Premier League, coming here to represent Bangladesh. He will make the difference against India.’’

Cabrera’s sentiments were echoed by team captain Jamal Bhuiyan. ‘’I think on 25 March, when he listens to the national anthem, Hamza is going to get goosebumps,’’ said Jamal, reflecting on his own experience as the first Bangladeshi-origin player from abroad to represent the national team.