Hope my I-League record is broken soon, says Chhetri
MUMBAI : National team captain Sunil Chhetri urged Indian strikers to make better use of their chances in the I-League so that his recently-set goal-scoring record would be broken soon.
Chhetri scored his 90th goal in National Football League (NFL) and I-League combined in Bengaluru FC’s 1-1 draw at Aizawl FC on Wednesday.
The goal saw him overtake Bhaichung Bhutia as leading Indian scorer of the country’s top-tier football.
Now, preparing to take on Mumbai FC at Cooperage on Saturday, Chhetri revealed that he would be happy if his record is broken soon.
“I hope somebody breaks the record soon. It will mean there is some striker scoring 100 goals (in league matches), he will be scoring for the national team also. It will be good for the country,” Chhetri told reporters after Bengaluru FC’s training session on Friday.
Chhetri also holds the record for most goals for the national team having notched up 51 in 91 appearances. Just as with the domestic record, Chhetri overtook Bhutia’s tally to become the leading scorer.
Although Chhetri has topped the Indian scorer’s list, he is still far short of the exploits of Nigerians Ranti Martins and Odafa Okolie, both of whom have scored over 150 NFL and I-League goals.
“The worst part is apart from me, Bhaichung and Jeje Lalpekhlua, you don’t see Indian strikers playing day-in and dayout. To get a chance to score goals, you need to be playing day-in and day-out. That’s very important.
“We have to have more strikers starting games. Most clubs play foreign strikers so it’s difficult. I’m all for competition but when you look at it, Indian strikers get very few chances,” he said.
Chhetri will also be leading India into the third round of the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers. India are drawn with Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Macau with the top two teams of the group qualifying for the tournament.
India’s first group match is a visit to Myanmar on March 28.