Need of the hour: Jamil says it is important that the players get the chance to play competitive matches.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The head coach of the senior men’s football team, Khalid Jamil, felt that the resumption of the Indian Super League season is imperative to check the slide of the national team in the FIFA rankings. “I feel the ISL should resume at the earliest. It is important that the players get the chance to play enough competitive matches,” Jamil said while addressing the media here on Saturday. “Development takes time, and we should have a positive frame of mind, which is necessary to ensure that everything gets back on track in time,” Jamil added.
The Indian men’s national football team, which recently suffered its second successive loss in the group stage of the Asian Cup qualification matches, slumped to 142 in the latest FIFA rankings. India, which rose to the 99th position in July 2023 after winning the SAFF championship, encountered a steep decline in the rankings after it started the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers midway in 2024. The Blue Tigers suffered a 0-1 loss against Bangladesh in its latest outing and thereafter slumped to its lowest ranking in nearly a decade. “The rankings are a reflection of the team’s performance over a period of time. The ranking does not always matter and what really counts is winning matches, for which, we must start working hard,” Jamil said.
The National coach said it is time India broadened its squad by scouting talents from the youth teams and also by getting the Indian origin players from overseas. “We are thinking about inducting more under-23 and under-21 players in the national team. We will do the scouting once the ISL and the I-League get underway,”
Jamil hailed the arrival of Ryan Williams under the OCI (overseas citizenship of India) and said that inclusion of more such players will help the Indian team.
Published – November 29, 2025 10:15 pm IST
