The announcement of retirement next month by Sunil Chhetri, one of the greatest football players and the captain of the Indian national team, is not only the end of his almost two decade long charismatic journey in football, but is also like the end of an era for Indian football. It's noteworthy that in the career spanning two decades, which started in Pakistan in 2005, where the rules of football changed, the govts changed, the era of Dhoni and Kohli as captains in cricket also started and ended, but throughout this time, the one name that remained the face of Indian football was that of Sunil Chhetri. He is also a hero in the sense that he single-handedly took football to a different level in a country where other sports get lost in the glamor of cricket.

On his retirement Football's Apex Body, FIFA, posted his image titled 'Retiring as a Legend' on X alongside the football greats Ronaldo and Messi. Like his great predecessor Baichung Bhutia, he is also adept at scoring all types of goals and is adept at playing with both feet. But while Baichung was troubled by injuries in the last years of his career, Chhetri's fitness can be gauged from the fact that he scored nine goals in 14 matches played in 2023. If we look at some of India's most significant successes in the last 19 years, Chhetri's impact on the national team's performance stands out.

When Bhaichung Bhutia retired in 2011, Sunil Chhetri was ready to take his place, but the concern that football fans have been expressing for the last ten years is still present that who will succeed Chhetri? Now that he has announced his retirement, there is sure to be a fight for tickets for his last match against Kuwait at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on the sixth day of June. Of course, it is impossible to predict in the unpredictable game of football, but when this legend comes out to create history for the country in the World Cup qualifier match, the eyes of the entire country will be on him!