India vs Jordan: 5 times India did badly in the absence of Sunil Chhetri

After their creditable show against China last month, the Indian national football team is all set for their new venture when they take Jordan in an International Friendly on Saturday. The match will be played at the King Abdullah II International Stadium in Amman from 10.30 PM IST.

This is going to be a historic fixture as India have never played Jordan before. As a result, the Arabian opponents will be completely unknown to them. India are ranked 97th in the latest FIFA rankings while Jordan are 15 places behind.

As rankings seldom tell the truth, the task will be harder for the Men in Blue this time. Not only an unknown opponent, but India will have to play without their talisman Sunil Chhetri, who will miss the game because of an ankle injury that he sustained in Bengaluru FC's ISL game against Kerala Blasters.

Chhetri has not missed games for his country in recent times. But whenever he was not there in the team, his absence was felt poorly. We have picked out five matches where Chhetri had not played and as the record goes, India lost four of them and drew one.

It needs to be seen how players like Balwant Singh, Sumeet Passi or Manvir Singh cover up the star striker’s absence this time.

#5 Iran vs India (World Cup Qualifiers, March 24, 2016)

Result: Iran 4-0 India

This was the first of the two matches which Chhetri missed owing to an injury. During an I-League (Bengaluru are two-time winners of this tournament before joining Indian Super League) game, Chhetri sustained a groin injury. As a result, Stephen Constantine had to name a 22-member squad without the prolific forward.

“The injury is such that it requires him to take necessary care and that requires him to stay back in India and get treated,” India coach Stephen Constantine explained back then.

“I was sitting at my room trying to recall as to when I last missed a national team match for injury. It's so disappointing. It's such an important match for us and I still can't believe that I would be missing it,” Chhetri was quoted as saying after the squad was announced. “The coach had a chat with Gigy sir (team physio Gigy George) and decided to leave me out of the squad to enable me time to get treated and get ready for the next game”, Chhetri added.

Without their main players, India failed to find their foot in the game and lost by 0-4 margin in their away game at Tehran. Haji Safi scored twice from the spot while Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh also got on the score-sheet for Iran.

#4 India vs Turkmenistan (World Cup Qualifiers, March 29, 2016)

Robin Singh and Jeje Lalpekhlua led the forward line for India

Result: India 1-2 Turkmenistan

This was the second successive match that Chhetri did not play due to the groin injury. But before that, Constantine included him in the squad for Turkmenistan but didn’t name him in the starting line-up. Chhetri remained unused as a substitute.

There was a speculation beforehand that Chhetri may not play. Chhetri joined the side upon their return from Tehran and even had some practice sessions with his teammates, but he felt some discomfort before the match and Constantine didn’t take any risk.

This was the last match of World Cup qualifiers group stage and all India had to do was to win and finish in a respectable position in front of their home crowd. Sadly, the Men in Blue failed to avoid the ignominy and lost by 1-2. Sandesh Jhinghan scored the only goal of the match for the home side.

#3 India vs St Kitts and Navis (Tri-nations Cup, August 24, 2017)

India's Robin Singh

Result: India 1-1 St Kitts and Navis

The then India captain Sunil Chhetri along with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Udanta Singh missed the game against St Kitts and Navis due to their AFC Cup commitment for Bengaluru FC. But Indian management has said that the three players were rested for the game.

Bengaluru FC beat April 25 SC 3-0 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium where both Chhetri and Udanta had scored. But India could only manage a draw against their opponents. The match saw Sandesh Jhinghan lead the national side for the first time. India could have won the match had there been a prolific striker like Chhetri on their side.

But overall, the match gave chances to some youngsters like Rowllin Borges to prove their mettle and they made their opportunities count. Borges brought a sense of calm on the pitch while Eugeneson Lyngdoh showed better application against St Kitts and Navis. As a result of the newfound confidence, India won their match quite comfortably by 4-1 against Macau three months later.

#2 Kyrgyzstan vs India (Asian Cup qualifier, March 27, 2018)

Jeje Lalpekhlua got on the score-sheet but was unable to inspire India to a victory

Result: Kyrgyzstan 2-1 India

India had already booked their ticket for Asian Cup before they faced Kyrgyzstan in their last group match of the qualifiers. But in their penultimate match at home against Myanmar on November 14, 2017, Chhetri earned a second yellow card, which effectively ruled him out of the Kyrgyzstan match.

The AFC rules state that a player can accumulate only two yellow cards in the group stage and the player guilty of doing that will have to sit one match out through suspension. Chhetri’s booking against Myanmar was his second booking in the group matches. Chhetri’s first caution was also received against the same opponents in a 1-0 win in Yangon, earlier in 2017.

Without Chhetri, the onus was on Jeje Lalpekhlua and Balwant Singh to score. During the match, two of Balwant’s goal were ruled out for offside. Jeje scored in the dying moments but it was not enough for the visiting side to avoid a defeat. Chhetri’s absence was felt badly as India lacked a potent striker in front of the goal.

#1 Maldives vs India (SAFF Cup Final, September 15, 2018)

India went with an Under-23 squad for the SAFF Cup

Result: Maldives 2-1 India

The South Asian Football Federation cup is organized every two years with the participation of seven South-Asian countries who are part of this group. For years, India has been the dominant country in this fixture with seven titles to their name.

Before the tournament, in an event organized in Kolkata, Chhetri hinted that he may skip the SAFF Cup to give junior players more chance.

“I was fortunate to play SAFF three or four times. I am not declaring anything right now, but I had a chat with the coach and he said he wants to bring in a lot of junior players, which I think is a very good thing. It’s not trying to demean the other teams in the SAFF region. It’s a great opportunity for the youngsters to come to the table and show the coach that they also have the potential. I think even with the U-23 team, we are very strong in the SAFF region. I hope they do well and we retain the championship,” Chhetri was quoted as saying then.

Eventually, Chhetri along with goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and other senior players were rested as India coach Stephen Constantine named an U-23 side for the biennial event.

India were on the verge of their eighth title before a disappointing defeat at the hands of Maldives put paid to their hopes. India, who beat the same opponent by 2-0 in their group fixture, came shot of their rivals in the final.

More than the defeat, it was their performance which worried the fans. In Chhetri’s absence, youngsters like Sumeet Passi, Farukh Choudhary and Manvir Singh were expected to take the responsibility. While Passi had scored in the final and twice against Pakistan in the semi-final, he failed to leave a mark. Farukh and Manvir were unimpressive.

Choudhary has been dropped from the 22-man squad for the friendly against Jordan but the other two remain. Only time will tell if they can prove their doubters wrong.