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The final 23-member Indian squad is out for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. While there were not too many surprises in the 23 members, the striking force does look concerning.
Forwards Manvir Singh and Farukh Choudhary were named in the 28-member squad but were left out when it was trimmed down to the final 23.
Earlier, Indian football fans had shown their dismay when in-form players such as Jobby Justin, Rahul Bheke, Brandon Fernandes, and Michael Soosairaj were left out of the 34-man probables list.
Constantine was in the stands in many of the ISL matches to scout for new talent but has chosen to stick with the pool of experienced players -- even though their form is not exceptional.
For a long time now Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua have formed the core of Constantine's striking unit.
Besides Chhetri and Jeje, Sumeet Passi and Balwant Singh are the other two strikers who will be looking to make the most of the opportunities they get in the continent's biggest football tournament.
Now that the final list of players is out, let us do a quick analysis of the four forwards.
#4 Sumeet Passi
Jamshedpur FC are doing fairly well this season and are currently at fifth position on the ISL table with 19 points.
They have lost just once in the 12 matches and the seven draws are the reason the Men of Steel find themselves in the middle of the table.
However, much can not be said about Sumeet Passi's contribution for Jamshedpur FC. Although the Chandigarh -born forward has scored two goals in the nine matches he has played for the Jamshedpur-based franchise, his performance has been far from satisfactory.
The 24-year-old has a poor passing accuracy of 49.57% and an unimpressive goal conversion rate of 22% -- a far cry from what they should be of a player representing the national team.
Passi's inclusion in the national team has always been dubious and once again Constantine has raised quite a few eyebrows by including him in the final 23.
#3 Jeje Lalpekhlua
The once highly acclaimed Jeje is probably in the worst form of his life. The Mizo sniper looks a shadow of what he was in the previous edition of ISL.
During the 2017-18 season, the 27-year-old scored nine goals and had one assist from the 20 matches he played for the Marina Machans -- having a vital contribution in their title-winning run.
His performance was also noteworthy in the Intercontinental Cup where he managed to find the back of the net.
Jeje's barren spell has gone on for quite some time now but Constantine seems to stick with him.
In the 11 matches Jeje has played for Chennaiyin in the ongoing ISL season, he has not even managed an assist let alone a goal. Many times it is as if he is invisible on the pitch.
It will be highly optimistic to hope for a miracle to happen and expect him to start firing at the biggest level when he is not even fully confident at the club level.
#2 Balwant Singh
With four wins, four draws, and four losses, ATK are currently placed at 12th position in the ISL table. Balwant Singh had his moments early on in the season but has looked lackluster thereafter.
The 32-year-old only has one goal from his 12 league matches and is yet to assist a goal. The Punjab-born player last scored a goal against Delhi Dynamos on 17 October 2018.
After a decent spell with Mumbai City FC last season, Balwant has been disappointing this time around.
The forward does not bring much to the plate on paper and it remains to be seen if he can make any significant contribution for the Blue Tigers in the Asian Cup.
#1 Sunil Chhetri
Sunil Chhetri is the only forward in the Indian team who has played the full 90 minutes in each of the club matches this season.
The veteran forward is India's best bet when it comes to the attacking third and the team will be relying heavily on him to produce the goods.
The Bengaluru FC skipper has five goals and an assist in the 11 games he has played for his team. His last goal came against FC Goa on 22 November and Chhetri has failed to find the back of the net in the last five matches.
Even though The Blues are on top of the ISL table and are the only team yet to be defeated, Carles Cuadrat and his troops expect more from Chhetri. Such is the image Sunil has built for himself.
Yes, Sunil is the highest Indian goalscorer but his barren run of 5 matches is quite alarming.
Looking at the broad picture, the Blue Tigers have a lot to worry about ahead of the 2019 Asian Cup.
Once again, relying completely on Chhetri may not work for them. A team effort is required at a tournament of the level of the Asian Cup which features talented strikers like Yuya Osako of Japan and Matthew Leckie of Australia to name a few.
