Sunil Chhetri returns as captain in India vs Maldives in first appearance since coming out of retirement | Football News

Indian football icon Sunil Chhetri returned as captain in the international friendly against Maldives on Wednesday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong as the legend was named in the starting XI. The 40-year-old is all set to play his first game in nine months, having recently come out of retirement in an unexpected reversal of his decision.

On March 8, Chhetri reversed his retirement decision taken last year with India, who missed out on the qualification for the 2026 World Cup, now targeting the Asian Cup in 2027. The fourth-highest men’s international goalscorer of all time made his last appearance in June 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Kuwait, in front of nearly 59,000 fans in Kolkata.

Despite his international retirement, Chhetri showed he remains a force to reckon with after an impressive show in the 2024-25 ISL, which turned out to be his most prolific season, having scored 12 goals from 24 matches to be the second-highest scorer overall and highest among Indians.

India set for first appearance in Shillong

The preparatory match for Manolo Marquez’s side marks a historic moment as the Blue Tigers will play in the football-crazy hill town for the first time.

In the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Marquez said, “It is the first time we are playing here, but I have worked with a lot of coaches and players from here. I knew it’s a very nice place.

“I remember when I watched the Durand Cup in Shillong last year, I said, ‘Wow, the ground, crowd, atmosphere, everything is nice.’ I’m not joking, I said it’d be great if one day, the national team could play here.”

For Marquez, the match presents an excellent opportunity to fine-tune his team before his first competitive match since becoming India’s head coach in July 2024, which is a week away – against Bangladesh on March 25 in an Asian Cup qualifier.