Rio Ferdinand calls for Yan Dhanda's selection to the Indian football team, Shaji Prabhakaran responds

The 24-year-old has raised several eyebrows following his impressive performances this season.

World football has for a long time seen players at the very top level, who have an Indian origin. These players, though extremely talented, often choose to represent their birthplace over their country of origin. It's fair to say that in recent times, Indian football has cast away quite a number of talents, which would have benefited the footballing scene in India otherwise.

But bygones are bygones, and we need to focus our attention on the current opportunity that has presented itself, in the form of a talented winger that goes by the name Yan Dhanda. The player has created quite a name for himself, after his stirring performances with Ross County, as a result of which footballing legend and pundit Rio Ferdinand took to Twitter to appreciate the player, and also commented on his possible entry into the Indian National football team.

About the player

Dhanda was born in Birmingham on 14 December 1998, to an English mother and a Punjabi father. He began his youth career at West Bromwich Albion before moving to Liverpool, spending five years in the youth ranks at Anfield.

In May 2018, he left Liverpool to join Championship side Swansea and was expected to be a part of the U23s. But just four months later, 20-year-old Yan got the chance to make his debut, after he came off the bench against Sheffield. Astonishingly, the youngster also scored his first goal for the team in the same game, after he slotted home the winner.

He made 49 more appearances with the club, before joining Scottish club Ross County in the summer of 2022.

Since his signing with Ross, Yan has made 29 appearances for the Staggies and has a total of three goals and seven assists to his name. Apart from that, Yan has also been the creative spark for his team on the wings, and has been very impressive with his incredible footballing skills.

Tweet contents

Former Man United defender, and BT Sport Pundit Rio Ferdinand, sent a Tweet today in appreciation of Yan’s astounding statistics, and skills, and also called out for his national team selection, whilst tagging Indian National team head coach Igor Stimac, AIFF President Mr. Kalyan Chaubey, and Secretary General of AIFF Mr. Shaji Prabhakran.

Following this tweet, AIFF secretary general Mr. Shaji Prabhakaran responded to Rio and expressed his willingness towards having Yan in the Indian National team.

In response to Mr. Prabhakaran's tweet, Yan also shared his thoughts and said that "Giving up his passport won't be the right option," and that he should be provided with OCI cards.

Another source close to the player also reaffirmed Yan’s statement, and said “ Yan cannot have an Indian passport. If he does then he would not be able to play in the top European teams. India just needs to change the rules like every other country."

Rules on changing nationality

Although Yan mentioned in his tweet that he must be provided with OCI cards for his representation in the National team, it must be noted that the High Court of Delhi recently refused an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) to represent the country on the national level. In its ruling, the court also stated that an OCI cannot represent a National team of India. Therefore, issuing OCI cards won't be enough to get Yan to play for the Blue Tigers.