Sunil Chhetri is an icon & legend in India: Bangladesh's Jamal Bhuyan hails Indian captain

Last year, the Bangladesh national team faced off against the Indian football team in Kolkata, where the two teams played out a 1-1 draw. A year later, the Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuyan is all set to return to the City of Joy, this time with newly-promoted Hero I-League side Mohammedan SC. 

The Bangladesh captain has enjoyed a healthy rivalry with the Blue Tigers in International football and boasts of a record wherein he has never lost to India on the three occasions playing against the country. Jamal Bhuyan said he feels a special motivation when it comes to playing against India.

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Sunil Chhetri is a legend reckons Bangladeshi captain Jamal Bhuyan

Speaking to AIFF TV, Bhuyan spoke about the Indian football team's talismanic forward, Sunil Chhetri. “Sunil Chhetri is an icon and a legend in India. He’s scored so many international goals, so we always had our eyes on him. The coach and I spoke about the game and he told me, ‘You have to stop Sunil Chhetri’,” recalls Jamal.

“So I was focusing on not letting him get any chances. Whatever move he made, I went with him. My job that day was to cut him off from the rest and frustrate him,” Bhuyan stated. 

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Jamal Bhuyan is now all set to return to the City of Joy where he will be playing for newly promoted I-League side Mohammedan SC. Speaking about the move Jamal said that the offer from the I-League side took him by surprise. Bhuyan claimed when Mohammedan Sporting approached him, he asked around to get acquainted with the rich history of the football club. "They just earned a promotion and now want to win the league. I felt that that is the kind of intent I want to play with and that I can make an impact there. I am looking forward to playing at Mohammedan," he concluded.

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The I-League will kick off on January 9 next year in Kolkata. Eleven teams will be a part of this season and will be in a bio-secure bubble from 14 days prior to their first match until the end of the season. The schedule, however, is yet to be released. Gokulam Kerala FC are fancying their chances this time around and have started their pre-season training in Kozhikode, keeping the SOPs in mind. 

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Image credits: AIFF, Sunil Chhetri Twitter