Panaji: For years, everyone has asked the same question: After Sunil Chhetri, who?The question has never received a convincing answer. The shortage of quality strikers in Indian football has been so acute that Chhetri, India’s greatest goalscorer, had to be coaxed to come out of retirement and help the national team at age 40.Two years later, he’s still firing in the Indian Super League (ISL).The former India captain believes it won’t be easy to find a domestic striker who scores consistently, largely due to limited opportunities in the top tiers of Indian football. He has a solution, something the All India Football Federation (AIFF) could give a try.“There are not many blueprints in world football that we can copy to produce strikers,” Chhetri told TOI over a recent video call. “I am sure the thinktank (at AIFF) is thinking about it, but there are a few things that can make a lot of difference. Without meaning to demean the competition, I think there can be a reduction in foreigners in the I-League, and we can also try and start a reserve league. I know it’s not easy and there are a lot of logistical factors involved. But imagine a situation where our young strikers don’t get a game and the next day they play in the reserve league, getting valuable minutes.“No matter how good you are in training, a number nine or scoring position is all about habit. It’s all about how many minutes you have faced in a competitive game. In training, you can keep scoring thousands of goals, but it’s what you do in a competitive match that helps. That’s why all the best scorers are the ones who always play more games. The more chances you miss, the nearer you are to scoring goals.”In the top tier of Indian football, opportunities for Indian forwards have been hard to come by. Take Chhetri’s own team, Bengaluru FC, for instance. The likes of Soham Varshneya, Monirul Molla, Kelvin Singh, Serto Worneilen Kom and Ningthoukhongjam Rishi are all promising attacking talents. Yet, breaking into the first team remains a difficult proposition when foreign forwards are ahead of them in the pecking order.“I’ll give another beautiful example. Suhail Bhat, he’s a brilliant player. I saw him in the national team when I was there. For the last three years, I’m dying to watch him play. But when you have a (Jason) Cummings, (Dimitri) Petratos and a Jamie (Maclaren) in the team (for the last three seasons), how would you give him a chance? The boy is brilliant as a number nine. He has a knack (of scoring goals),” said Chhetri.Bhat has a long-term contract with Mohun Bagan SG and has had limited opportunities in the top tier ISL. His talent though is undeniable, as evident from his three goals in two games at the ongoing SAFF Championship.A reserve league is a popular concept in European football where players who are not involved in first-team action on a weekend play against the same team the next day. Spain, Italy and Germany have a strong B-team system where the reserves get a taste of competitive action every week.In some countries, the biggest clubs enter their reserve sides into the lower leagues, some rising as high as the second tier.
