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The 2019-20 season of the Indian Super League is a box of surprises as it has taken fans on a roller-coaster ride of excitement, thrill, and passion. Every year, we see new players in the ISL proving themselves to their respective clubs in their first season while the mainstays work on improving themselves with every match.
While players like Hugo Boumous and Roy Krishna set the league alight with their goal contributions, Indian players are not too far behind either, as Sunil Chhetri and Brandon Fernandes have their own tricks up their sleeves. Upcoming defenders like Narender Gehlot and Sarthak Golui have put in impressive performances while experienced players like Pratik Chaudhari did no harm to their reputation.
Having said that, we take a look at the best XI made out of Indian players for the 2019-20 season of the Indian Super League.
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Goalkeeper: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
Amrinder Singh was the best goalkeeper in the league in the 2018-19 season but the Mumbai City FC goalkeeper has been a shadow of his former self this term with the defence protecting him also not doing him any favours.
The Indian national team's preferred No.1 Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, on the other hand, has been excellent and has conceded only 11 goals in 17 matches during which he also made 46 saves. Four teams, including semi-finalists Chennaiyin FC, failed to score against the 28-year in 180 minutes of action in the league stage.
Arindam Bhattacharya was also excellent throughout the season and kept 9 clean sheets allowing only 14 goals to go past him in 17 matches. The former Mohun Bagan keeper also fended off the very promising Dheeraj Singh Moriangthem waiting in the wings for his opportunity to take over the No.1 spot.
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Defenders: Seriton Fernandes, Pritam Kotal, Sarthak Golui, Mandar Rao Dessai
Seriton Fernandes was excellent for FC Goa at right-back. He made 30 interceptions and 87 tackles and also supported the side's attack by allowing Mandar Rao Dessai to go forward from the other flank. Dessai ended up contributing 4 assists, which is the most for any defender in the 2019-20 season of ISL.
Meanwhile, Pritam Kotal was excellent for ATK in a back three, working as a right centre-back, as he made 27 crucial interceptions and 65 tackles helping his side keep 9 clean sheets in 18 matches. He also scored a crucial goal with a header against table-toppers FC Goa. Sarthak Golui, though error-prone, partners Kotal in the centre of the defence. He made 20 interceptions and 46 successful tackles in just 13 matches for Mumbai City.
19-year-old Narender Gehlot was impressive for Jamshedpur FC after gaining his manager's trust and breaking into the first XI. He slotted into the left-back position seamlessly and after Tiri's injury, partnered Memo to make a solid centre-back partnership.
Prabir Das also impressed in his role as a right wing-back for ATK. The 26-year old provided 3 assists and made 28 interceptions contributing at both ends of the pitch.
Midfielders: Rowlin Borges, Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes
Rowlin Borges had an excellent individual season in an injury-ridden Mumbai City FC team. The midfield lynchpin made 43 interceptions and 103 successful tackles and to top it all off, he also scored 2 goals and assisted 2 more for his teammates.
Anirudh Thapa proved to be the perfect No.6 as he made a league-high 48 interceptions and 52 successful tackles. The 22-year old midfielder also provided 6 assists and scored a solitary goal for Chennaiyin FC.
Meanwhile, Brandon Fernandes made the No.10 position his own, registering a tally of 6 assists and 2 goals in 16 matches. With Sahal Abdul Samad out of favour at Kerala Blasters, Fernandes had no real competition to stop him from getting into this team.
While FC Goa are known for their goals, Lenny Rodrigues silently did the dirty work for the Gaurs as he made 46 interceptions and 82 tackles while also chipping in with a couple of goals as well.
Forwards: Jackichand Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Sunil Chhetri
Sunil Chhetri has the most number of goals by an Indian player, with 9 goals in 15 matches. The 35-year old has had to play as a traditional No.9 due to the lack of a proper in-form centre-forward at Bengaluru FC.
Meanwhile, Jackichand Singh has registered a tally of 5 goals and 3 assists for FC Goa. The 27-year-old did well to hang on to his right-wing position in a talented Gaurs squad. Lallianzuala Chhangte, on the other hand, had a coming-of-age season as he took on more responsibility in front of the goal. The 22-year old scored 6 goals and set the league alight with his electric pace.
Bench: Arindam Bhattacharya, Prabir Das, Narender Gehlot, Lenny Rodrigues, Redeem TIang, Faroukh Choudhary, Manvir Singh
Here is how the 4-2-3-1 formation will look on the pitch. The players can morph into a 4-3-3 with Brandon dropping deeper to allow Jackichand and Chhangte to move further up and support Chhetri.
