Sunil Chhetri (Photo: @chetrisunil11 on X) NEW DELHI: “SUNIL CHHETRI IS BACK,” announced the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on their official X (formerly Twitter) account almost a week ago. The all-caps post of Chhetri's return included an Indian flag and a message: “The captain, leader, legend will return to the Indian national team for the FIFA International Window in March.” What followed was a storm of reactions — of all kinds — across social media, with many understandably delighted to see the return of Indian football ’s golden boy; others questioned the value of the long-form tributes written after his retirement, wondering what they meant now.
While some saw it as a glimmer of hope in a bleak phase for Indian football, others asked some pressing questions: Why hasn’t Indian football produced another Sunil Chhetri ? Why couldn't India develop a worthy successor while Chhetri was still on the field? In a country of 1.4 billion, is that too much to ask? “There was a time when people wondered who could replace Bhaichung Bhutia. Eventually, we found a successor in Sunil.
And similarly, Sunil too will be replaced, but it will take time. Everyone just needs to be patient," said Mehtab Hossain, former India international with 30 caps, many of them alongside Chhetri, in an exclusive chat with TimesofIndia.com .
"If you look at countries in Africa or South America — excluding Europe, many of them barely have proper infrastructure or even food security..