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In search of goals and victories, managers rarely dared to gamble with inexperienced or Indian personnel at vital positions in the lineup. Thus, a lot of players who came into the season with high expectations kept warming the bench throughout the period.
Even when players like Suresh Singh Wangjam and Sumit Rathi sealed a place for themselves in the starting lineups, many others kept waiting for playing time.
Here, we look at five players who deserved more game time this season, considering their positions and club's situation but had to watch from the lines for most of the time.
#5 Bikramjit Singh (Odisha FC)
Bikramjit Singh, with ample experience of playing all across India for outfits like Churchill Brothers, Mohun Bagan, FC Goa, ATK and Chennaiyin FC was a second-half substitute in Josep Gomabu's plans at Odisha FC.
The 27-year-old played six games this season, all coming in from the bench, and clocked 139 minutes. With five shots, nine tackles and six clearances, Bikramjit had no time on offer to settle into the campaign.
Vinit Rai and Marcos Tebar were the primary choices at the holding midfield position and, Bikramjit was a backup to the former on most occasions. Though the India international did a decent job before the backline, Gombau could have tested out Bikramjit too.
Given Odisha's dismal performance in defence, conceding 31 goals, reinforcement in the defensive third was expected from Odisha, at least towards the end of the campaign.
#4 Sahil Tavora (Hyderabad FC)
At a time when nothing worked out for Hyderabad FC, Phil Brown looked into his whole squad, except Sahil Tavora. The 24-year-old didn't play a single minute under Brown and came on as a substitute against Odisha FC, in the very first game after the Englishman's departure.
Sahil played two games this season, as an early substitute against Odisha, and started the next game, against Mumbai City. The former FC Goa player had only 76 touches on the ball from 158 minutes and made 58 passes and eight tackles.
Rohit Kumar, Nikhil Poojary and Abhishek Halder were all tried and tested with different roles in the midfield, but rarely did such a call come for Sahil. After Hyderabad's early exit from playoff contention, the Goan-born midfielder surely deserved more time on the pitch to prove his worth.
#3 Darren Caldeira (Kerala Blasters)
Having played for half a dozen clubs in his career, Darren Caldeira was one of Kerala Blasters' most experienced Indian players this season. However, that didn't help the 32-year-old earn some playing time under Dutch manager Eelco Schattorie.
Darren played his only game this season against Hyderabad FC, coming in with one minute of regular time left. In six other games, he was unused on the bench. Though the midfielder had an injury in the early phase of the season, he was fit from December.
In an injury-struck Blasters squad, the coach had chances to field the former Bengaluru FC player, especially when Mario Arques was injured. He could also use Caldeira in place of Jeakson Singh before the defence.
#2 Komal Thatal (ATK)
Komal Thatal, one of India's products of the 2017 U-17 World Cup was left to watch the proceedings for almost an entire season. The 19-year-old played a total of six minutes this season, against Hyderabad FC.
While Thatal was on the bench in seven other games, he didn't find a spot in ATK's matchday squad for eleven fixtures. Compared to the previous season, when he played 565 minutes from 12 games, the ongoing campaign has been one to forget for the young winger.
In a squad comprising of world-class attackers like Roy Krishna and David Williams, followed by Indian players Michael Soosairaj and Jobby Justin, game time was difficult for Thatal right from the start.
However, Antonio Lopez Habas should have offered the youngster some time on the field, at least in the second half, with a long-term objective in mind.
#1 Samuel Lalmuanpuia (Kerala Blasters)
Samuel Lalmuanpuia's move to Kerala Blasters had attracted a lot of attention given his heroics for Shillong Lajong in the I-League previously. The attacking-midfielder, however, was not a first-choice at Kerala and did not start even a single game.
Samuel played 59 minutes from 5 games and completed 43 passes and three shots. Only once was he introduced into the game before the 80th minute and was never really handed a chance to prove his mettle.
Eelco Schattorie, for the majority of the season, played with two strikers and no full-time attacking midfielder. As a result, Samuel Lalmuanpuia had no perfect role in the formation, and the other attacking midfielder, Sahal Abdul Samad was played out of position, on the wing.
But still, altering the tactics or slotting him on the flanks while the wingers were going through a difficult time could have helped the club and player in the long run. From the captain of an I-League side to a substitute player in ISL, the 21-year-old had a bitter period in terms of game time at Blasters.
