Kalyan Chaubey’s biggest quandary: How to increase playing time for Indian strikers in ISL, as Indian football keeps faltering

So when he addressed the press after the latest setback – a loss to lower-ranked Hong Kong in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers Round 3 on Tuesday conceding a goal in the 94th minute – the most he managed was elaborating on the nature of this knot.

“In ISL, most of the clubs have foreign players as strikers. It is very difficult for a player to play in a certain position (winger or playmaker) for long time and then shift to another position for the national team,” Chaubey said. “We need to take a practical collective decision to increase match time for Indian strikers,” Kalyan Chaubey told reporters on Friday.

The Knot has further tangles, which the direct posers from the press laid bare. ‘Why is India underperforming?’, ‘Has (coach) Manolo quit?’, ‘Is OCI-PIO rule going to change?’, ‘What happened in the I-League case (where winner is yet to be determined)?’ Clarity was absent on any of those.

After the departure of Croatian Igor Stimac and appointment of Manolo Marquez as the head coach in July 2024, the Indian team has played eight international games losing three, drawing four and winning just one. The Indian team has scored five goals and conceded eight, with three coming in just one friendly against Maldives.

Reports emerged after the Hong Kong loss that Manolo mighty quit the national team role and is unhappy with team’s performance. Clarifying on the same, Chaubey said, “Manolo Marquez is one of the longest serving foreign coaches in India. Over past six years, he has managed multiple clubs and his understanding of the Indian players and their strength is better compared to others. The executive committee will be meeting on 29th June and in consultation of the technical committee, we will take a call.”

India’s ranking has also dropped massively in past six months. Placed at 102 in December 2024, the Indian team is currently placed at world number 127.

While the performance of the Indian players have been under constant scrutiny, fans and experts have voiced for the inclusion of People of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) players in the national team. Currently, India doesn’t allow dual citizenship preventing Indian-origin players playing in other countries to represent the national team.

“Several countries ranked below India have adopted the method of having naturalized citizens and it has worked for them. AIFF has initiated communication with relevant departments of the Indian government for OCI and PIO players and the initial response is encouraging. We are in touch with 33 players and we are assisting them in getting OCI cards,” Chaubey said.

However, the implementation of OCI and PIOs athletes representing India remains a distant dream as it is a complex issue that involves stakeholders beyond Sports Ministry and Sports Authority of India. Last month this newspaper reported that the Sports Ministry is considering the idea of looking at players of Indian origin to improve sports where India lacks considerable strength at the international level.

Apart from the issues with the national teams, the AIFF leadership also evaded questions related to status of the partnership between AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) for Indian Super League and the ongoing dispute in the I League involving Inter Kashi and Churchill Brothers.

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