Sunil Chhetri comes out of retirement: India captain to play against Maldives, Bangladesh in March
India’s record goalscorer and former captain Sunil Chhetri came out of retirement for its third round of qualifiers of the AFC Asian Cup 2027, against Bangladesh on March 25.
Chhetri, 40, had announced his retirement from international football in June last year, after a goalless draw with Kuwait in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.
With 94 goals, he is the fourth-highest goalscorer in men’s football, below Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Ali Daei.
However, he has continued playing for Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League, India’s top division, scoring 12 goals to become its highest Indian goalscorer this season.
He has played 23 matches for the Blues, starting 17 of them and has contributed to 14 strikes, including two assists.
In a recent interview, former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia had lamented the lack of strikers, lauding Sunil Chhetri.
“There have been some great moments with some Indian strikers and attacking midfielders, but consistency is not there. So, we’ve not been able to say that a particular player is going to take Indian football forward (after Chhetri),” Bhutia said.
“The highest Indian scorer this year is also a 40-year-old man, Sunil Chhetri. So, yes, there’s a big gap but hopefully, in 2025, we might be able to see) that.”
Chhetri, who is second in the Golden Boot race, helped Bengaluru return to the playoffs after it finished third from bottom last season.
After hanging up his boots from international duty, Chhetri had insisted, “The retirement decision was not because of physical aspect, I am still fit, running, chasing, defending, the hard work is not difficult, the reason is to do with mental aspect.”
India is drawn with Bangladesh, Hong Kong (China) and Singapore in its qualifying group and opens its campaign later this month, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong.
At the last edition of the Asian Cup, India had a forgettable campaign, getting knocked out in the group stages with losses in all is games.
Back in the team, hoping for a hat-trick of Asian Cup appaearances, only time will tell whether coach Manolo Marquez uses him as the conventional No. 9 or as an impact substitute.