Football has been a peripheral sport in India since early 70’s when cricket slowly caught up with the masses. From the days of P K Bannerjee to IM Vijayan to Baichung Bhutia and now Sunil Chettri, Indian football has failed to produce such stars on a consistent basis.
One or at times none is the number of top players are coming from in India in a decade or so. This record for a nation with billion plus population is shambolic. Things are nowadays are looking bright.
The new found Indian Super League has opened avenues anew for young Indian footballers. Players like Jeje Lalpekhlua, Subrata Paul and Arnab Mondal will get a chance to rub shoulders with who’s who of international football.
India always had that raw talent but never gave its talent a proper set up and a platform. This led to demise of many talented individuals like Raju Gaikwad and Steven Dias, who were tipped to serve the national team for the coming decade.
Players like Subrata Pal have been yearning for a proper launch pad to get into European football or even into more competitive Asian leagues like J-League or K-League. The same is true for Robin Singh or Jerry Lalrinzuala, who at 17, is tipped to be one of the best leftback in Indian football for decades to come.
ISL can help India get its new PK Bannerjee or Baichung Bhutia in Jeje or someone like Balwant Singh. The future of Indian football seems bright in these young turks’ hands with a platform like ISL.
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