Sunil Chhetri will play the last match in India jersey on Thursday

It is as if Kolkata is floating in the Sunil Sea. It’s exactly seven in the evening. As the blue Indian team bus pulled up in front of Yuva Bharati’s Vivekananda Murthy, the cheering crowd was palpable. Only one name was coming from the crowd: ‘Sunil…Sunil’. Just then, the man sitting in the front seat looked at the screaming youths and got down from the bus.

It’s exactly seven fifteen. Igor Stimach came to the field. The Indian coach sat alone for five minutes. Still, no one entered the field. Just five minutes after that, Sunil came out of the tunnel. Other days are seen straight down the field. The Indian captain’s last practice for the national team was on this day. He became somewhat emotional. Otherwise, why did he stand in front of the side line for a long time?

Once, he saw the whole stadium. After that, the representatives of the media from all over the country turned to where they were standing and expressed their gratitude with folded hands, as if they were saying, Thank you all for being by our side in this long journey. It did not end here; by that time, some of the support staff present in the field were also hugging. He shot a ball in front of the goal and stood there until the ball entered the goal.

At this moment, coach Stimach, who was sitting on the side of the field, called him alone. The discussion went on for a while, with hands on shoulders. After that, the feeling disappeared. Came back to reality. Practice has begun. Sunil is the leader in that practice as well. It was as if I knew Sunil. Manbir Singh did not leave an inch of ground, even in practice. In fact, even at the pre-retirement stage, Sunil is just as hungry. a fighter who is stubborn Finding an alternative to this sunil is now going to be a challenge in Indian football.

By Banasree Sarkar