Never had such kind of an opportunity as a youngster: Sunil Chhetri on Next Gen Cup

Indian captain Sunil Chhetri has stated that he never had many opportunities as a youngster. Chhetri believes the Next Generation Cup will give a perfect platform to the youngsters to showcase their skills and talent in the tournament and grow in confidence.

The Indian young talent is blooming after the Hero Indian Super League is taking steps in the right direction. A lot of young players have risen through the ranks and they would aim to give their best in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Chhetri has had a glorious career and has always tried to tick the right boxes in his game. The veteran has always worked hard on his game to reap fruits. Chhetri is well known for his hunger to do well and he has been an inspiration to all the young players in the country.

“This is an opportunity that I didn’t have as a young footballer in India, and I’m really happy that the Premier League and ISL have joined hands to make this happen,” Chhetri spoke to the TOI.

“The Next Generation Cup presents a chance for our players to go out and get the experience of playing against the youth teams of some of the best sides in the UK,” he continued, “I’m really glad to see our youngsters get this chance, and it also gives our coaches a chance to see the boys who have been knocking on the first team doors in action.”

On the other hand, Chhetri wants the young players to take a leaf out of players’ books, who have recently made the cut into the Blue Tigers’ team. There are a lot of opportunities and if the players are delivering the goods for their respective clubs, they are getting the chances they need to rise through the ladder in Indian football.

“To give them a message becomes easy when examples like Roshan Naorem are in front of you. Think of where he was exactly a year back and look now, the journey from the club’s academy to the first team and then the Indian [national] team. He was a boy amongst them, and he has completely changed his life around. That is what you can do when you work hard,” added the Bengaluru FC skipper.

The 37-year-old will be seen playing for Bengaluru FC in the Hero ISL.