Perseverance with utmost composure defines him. Could India have another Sunil Chhetri?

CAN ONE IMAGINE the current Indian national team without Sunil Chhetri? For dreaded reasons, no one even wishes this comes true any soon.

Sunil is the highest goal scorer for the national team. Not stopping at that, he is currently the fourth highest international goal scorer in the world. Goal scoring is just one of the many contributions to every team he has played for. Always leading by example and has seldom failed to live up to his expectations.

Chhetri has been playing long enough to become a household name in football. So much so that if his name is not in the probables for a game, it triggers multiple questions in pre-match conferences. Not that the post match questions about Chhetri's absence making a difference are given a miss, irrespective of the result of the game.

It is not overnight do we see a legend like Sunil Chhetri being made. Chhetri has gone through a lot of grilling in his career to evolve into a gem like him. His decisions have made him a player as strong and worthy of the praise and respect he is today. And those decisions were tough, like giving up the MLS Kansas City Wizards opportunity to come back and join the national camp.

Every generation of the Indian football has been trying to create a "team" and it is no different with the current generation as well. Every well-created team still requires an on-field leader to complete the team. Players need to look up to someone whose sight fills them up with belief that IT IS POSSIBLE. Someone with enough aggression and yet just enough composure to carry the team across the finish line. Chhetri has been part of the previous generation where he has had to look up to someone like that too. That leadership is a baton that needs to be passed over from one generation to the other. In a relay race, not all runners can run the entire length of the field. To ensure the race is legally completed, the baton needs to be handed over at just the right time one runner to the next.

Chhetri is with India's leadership baton and he will eventually need to hand it over to the next on-field leader. No suggestion of being any close to the end of road for the legend; may this generation see him pip the highest international goal scorer before even considering to hang up his boots. Sunil himself hates being asked to talk about his own retirement thoughts. National team coach Stephen Constantine has time and again said India fully recognises Chhetri's contribution to the sport but India must also be prepared to brave the challenges without him as well. Constantine knows he has a big task at hand when it comes to preparing the next suitable on-field leader.

The coming generation of footballers looks predominantly gearing to be devoid of the dependability on just one player and will see multiple heroes rising to different occasions. There will certainly not be another Sunil Chhetri so the baton of leadership is set to be retired with retirement of the legend himself; which again, we hope, is a long long time away.

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