Sunil Chhetri: The Best Football Player In India

Sunil Chhetri is regarded as one of the best Indian football players. When you talk about Indian football history, you can't skip the name of Indian Football captain Sunil Chhetri. Famously called "Skip", Chhetri has been the best football player in India for over 20 years. Over the years, Sunil Chhetri began his illustrious career in the National Football League and has witnessed the evolution of Indian football and the Indian Super League. He has been a standout player in the Indian football team, leading them to numerous victories and accomplishments over the past few decades. Here are three reasons why Sunil Chhetri is the best Indian football player.

Three Reasons Why Sunil Chhetri Is The Best Indian Football Player

1. Sunil Chhetri is the highest goal-scorer in Indian football

In an era of dominance at the club football level, scoring goals at the international stage and wearing the national colours are still experiences that every footballer dreams of. While wearing the blues, Sunil Chhetri helped the Blue Tigers win the Nehru Cup in 2007, 2009 and 2012. India won the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship in 2011, 2015 and 2021. With 94 goals in 150 international appearances, Indian Football captain Sunil Chhetri is currently the third-highest goalscorer among active players in international matches, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Chhetri is part of the unique record of players to score the highest goals in football. Sunil Chhetri needs 6 goals to reach the 100-goal mark. He is the highest goal scorer by an Indian and has been part of some of the best India Football moments in his 19-year career.

2. Sunil Chhetri is the top Indian goal-scorer in the ISL

When you talk about football, especially the Indian football league, you can't skip the name of India's legendary footballer. Sunil Chhetri is the only Indian in the list of the top five best football players in ISL history. The Indian football team captain has scored 61 goals and assisted 11 times in 155 appearances for Mumbai City FC and Bengaluru FC combined. Despite his old age, the Bengaluru FC captain is still playing at his peak. The Indian captain has scored 158 goals in 365 appearances in his career at the club level and is the top Indian goalscorer in the ISL. Overall, Sunil Chhetri has already scored 252 goals in 515 appearances. With Chhetri getting better with age, it is only a matter of time before he scores more hat-tricks.

3. Sunil Chettri is India's most-capped player

The Secunderabad-born footballer, who made his debut for Mohun Bagan in 2002, has made 150 international appearances for the Blue Tigers and is India's most-capped player. He made his international debut for India against Pakistan in 2005 and scored a goal in his first match. In 2019, Sunil Chhetri achieved a massive feat by becoming only the second Indian player in history to play 100 international matches after the 'torchbearer of Indian Football' Bhaichung Bhutia. Chhetri has been playing for the Blue Tigers for 18 years. The OneTurf News website is one such platform that provides all the latest football news and updates relating to the sporting world.