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The fever of the next season of the Indian Super League is truly up and running after the recently concluded draft pick saw all 10 teams finalise the Indian core of their team. Jamshedpur FC were understandably the highest spenders among all the sides whereas FC Goa decided to invest just over 2 crores for the 13 players that they signed.
Anas Edathodika and Eugeneson Lyngdoh were the costliest players in the draft whereas experienced players like Dharmaraj Ravanan and Nallapan Mohanraj went unsold. Among the 135 players that were picked, some proved to be cheap yet astute buys while others proved to be quite expensive. In this list, let us take a look at the five most overrated signings that ISL clubs made in the Indian players draft pick:
#5 Rahul Bheke (Bengaluru FC)
The full back has joined the Blues for a whopping sum of 43 lakhs and last played in the ISL for FC Pune City. Bheke's previous stints for Mumbai FC and East Bengal were decent but his performances in the ISL have been below par. His decision making has been questionable whereas his positional sense seems like an area to work upon.
Bheke is a good talent and can improve his tactical side under Albert Roca who emphasises his philosophy on having ball-playing attacking fullbacks. But Bengaluru have taken a big risk in signing an inconsistent player who has considerable experience under his belt but still has not proved his worth at the highest level.
#4 Arindam Bhattacharya (Mumbai City)
All the existing teams had a definite plan going into the draft pick and had retained two senior players before the process. Mumbai City had already retained Amrinder Singh at a record amount so it was believed that the Blues of Mumbai will not spend a big amount on a backup keeper.
But contrary to sane understanding, Mumbai City went and splurged 64 lakhs on Arindam Bhattacharya. The custodian will act as a deputy to Amrinder but spending such a huge amount on a backup was a surprising decision.
Bhattacharya is not in great touch at the moment and this move might prove to be a mistake for all the parties. Bhattacharya needs regular game time to get back to his best and that would have been possible only in the I-League.
#3 Thoi Singh (Chennaiyin FC)
The Manipuri midfielder was one of the star attractions in the draft process and his side, Chennaiyin re-signed him for a price of 57 lakhs. He was a crucial player in the team's run to the final of the ISL two years ago. But the 26-year-old has not hit his stride yet and is still playing catch up.
Thoi had an indifferent time with Mumbai FC this year which resulted in relegation for the I-League side. He is a player who guarantees goals from midfield and has proved to be a crucial cog for the Chennaiyin side. But taking a player, not in the best of form and who has displayed his limitations in the last couple of years was a big risk taken by the Chennai side. Thoi Singh is a decent player but his bad run and a huge base price earn him a place on this list.
#2 Balwant Singh (Mumbai City FC)
Since the Mumbai side could not lure Sunil Chhetri to leave Bengaluru and join his ISL side, the team management decided to spend 65 lakhs on former Mohun Bagan forward, Balwant Singh. The 30-year-old has not played in the ISL in the past two years and last played for Chennaiyin FC in 2015.
With just 1 goal in this competition, Mumbai City took a big gamble on signing a rather unproven quantity in the form of Balwant Singh. He will be needed to replicate Chhetri's form for Mumbai which in itself is a gigantic task. Singh has not been in the best of form recently and the pressure of being the club's main goalscorer might prove to be a bit too much for the Hoshiarpur man.
#1 Subrata Pal (Jamshedpur FC)
India's veteran custodian, Subrata Pal has had a tough outing in the ISL last time round. He committed a few errors for North East United which proved to be costly for his side which ultimately dropped them out of the top four. He was also criticised for his callous approach by DSK Shivajians' boss Dave Rogers in the I-League. On top of that, he was embroiled in a drug ban case which was, fortunately, did not result in a punishment for Pal.
One would think that after all these incidents, Pal would have gone unsold in the draft. But as football has proved to churn out surprises once in a while and in turn, Subrata Pal was sold for a massive sum of 87 lakhs to the league's new boys, Jamshedpur FC.
Pal became the third most expensive player in the ISL draft but his current form suggests that he does not deserve such a high price and also does not deserve being one of the marquee players of Jamshedpur.
