Only quality foreigners should play in the I-League – India captain Sunil Chhetri

The rule of allowing four foreigners in the starting eleven in the I-League has acted as a death-knell for Indian forwards as clubs very rarely field Indians in attack. That has made life very difficult for India coach Wim Koevermans while selecting his squad and ahead of the friendly against the Philippines on Friday, even India captain Sunil Chhetri admitted the difficulties that Indian strikers face in the I-League.

“I have mixed feelings (about the rule). On one hand it’s great to train with quality foreigners but then again there is a dominance that the foreigners enjoy in the starting lineup. As a result many of the younger Indian strikers gets to start only six or seven times a year which is not the way it should be,” the star striker said.

The Bengaluru FC forward pointed out that it’s essential for Indian strikers to choose the right club and talked about the importance of having quality foreigners.

“Look I have faced this problem as well. It’s important to keep training hard and wait for your opportunity. But at the same time it’s vital to sign for the right club because many teams don’t play Indian strikers at all. I don’t have a problem with the foreigners and in fact feel that a player can only benefit from playing and training with good foreign players and coaches. But I feel only quality foreigners should be playing in the I-League,” the Arjuna Awardee opined.

Sunil looked ahead to the game and spoke about the need to produce a strong performance after the disappointment of losing in the SAFF Championship final back in September.

“It’s great to be playing at home again and especially after losing the SAFF Championship we really want to put up a strong display and play as a team even if we don’t get the result. There is a lot of talk about inexperience but I feel whoever is new has the chance to prove themselves so it should be an exciting game,” he said.

Sunil thanked the Philippines for making the trip despite the tragedy in their homeland and also wished them well for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. But rest assured, the captain won’t be so charitable in the game tomorrow as he has to prove himself to Koevermans again after being dropped in the SAFF 2013 final.