By Utkarsh Rathour

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 12 (ANI): Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia lauded Sunil Chhetri's monumental contribution to Indian football and spoke about the difficulty of replacing the prolific striker.

Chhetri shared the Indian national football team's field with Bhaichung Bhutia for a span of six years. Their on-field moments began in 2005, when Chhetri made his international debut under English coach Bob Houghton, and continued until Bhutia retired from international duty in 2011.

Together, the pair forged a powerful attacking duo, notably guiding India to triumph in the 2007 Nehru Cup and the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, a victory that secured India's qualification for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

Speaking to ANI, Bhutia, who is also serving as a commentator on ZEE5 for the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026, highlighted that Chhetri's influence extends beyond goals, underlining his leadership and presence in the Indian team.

'I think his contribution has been huge for Indian football. I've been very fortunate to captain him when he made his debut. I played almost half his career duration, and the Indian team under me benefited greatly from his presence. After that, he went on to captain India and play for such a long time, which is massive,' the former Indian football captain said.

Chhetri also the all-time leading goal-scorer for the Indian national football team, having scored 95 international goals. He also holds the record for the most appearances with 157 appearances for India, the most by any player in the national team's history.

Bhutia further stressed the challenge of finding a successor to Chhetri, adding, 'It is still a big challenge for India to replace him because we've not seen anybody scoring half of what he's scored during his peak. We are still looking for a striker with the consistency to score regularly--someone who can deliver double-digit goals in the Indian Super League (ISL) and for the national team year after year. Hopefully, in a few years, we might be able to find that player.'

Bhutia also highlighted the urgent need for long-term grassroots development to strengthen Indian football.

India's FIFA ranking has seen a significant decline over the past few years, dropping from a high of 96th in 2018 to 138th in 2026. The 138th position marks the country's lowest ranking in a decade, down from 99th in 2023. After steadily climbing from 171st in 2014 to break into the top 100 in 2018, India has experienced a downward trend in recent years.

Speaking on the current state of football in India, Bhutia said, 'I think we still need to get our structure system right. We especially need to have a very strong long-term grassroots development. I think we're doing a lot of grassroots, but it has just become a short-term thing. They're doing some kind of a league for grassroots, which happens for 20 days or 30 days, then they do a lot of this kind of small. I think you need to create an environment where these kids are competing and training every week, every day, and have a long-term vision for it.'

The 49-year-old further stressed the importance of fostering a competitive culture among young players, adding, 'So I think that is something which we need to do, create that culture across different cities, different towns, different villages of playing football, competing every week, because training is very, very important. But every week you need to compete as well. So, create that culture environment, which we've still not been able to create on a bigger scale.'

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