Ten ISL players who should move to I-League for better game time

Veteran Narayan Das has not played a single minute in ISL 2023-24.

Indian Super League (ISL) is relentless and there is no margin for error. The highly competitive nature of the competition means that each club has to have squad depth to keep their performance standards high in case of injuries and suspensions. However, signing plenty of talented players sometimes makes them need more game-time. 

While it is a good problem to have for head coaches, as it breeds competition and keeps players on their toes, however, it can also lead to players falling prey to frustration. There have been several highly talented players who have failed to feature in the ongoing 2023-24 season of the Indian Super League due to various reasons. 

These individuals could benefit by moving to the I-League where game time won’t be an issue for them. Playing regularly is immensely important for a footballer and the following 10 players could be doing that by moving to the second tier of the Indian football pyramid:

Makan Chothe

Makan Winkle Chothe was dubbed as the player to watch out for after he emerged as a talented youngster at FC Goa. The Minerva Academy graduate signed for Hyderabad FC permanently at the start of the 2023-24 season but has not made the ideal impact. He has played only 101 minutes of football for the Nizams and could benefit from a move on loan to the I-League.

Sahil Panwar

Sahil Panwar is a talented defender who is spending an unusual amount of time on the bench for Odisha FC. The versatile full-back can play as a centre-back too but Sergio Lobera prefers other players like Narender Gahlot and Amey Ranawade over him. The 23-year-old should be looking to play regularly and a move to the I-League may benefit him in that regard.

Michael Soosairaj

Another Odisha FC player who is not playing enough amount of football is Michael Soosairaj. The former Indian Super League winner with ATK has featured only once in the league this season, playing 24 minutes against Kerala Blasters FC. He is 29 years of age and should be using his experience to guide an I-League team to promotion. The upcoming transfer window should be a way to execute this plan.

Gaurav Bora

Gaurav Bora used to regularly feature in the Indian Super League during his playing days with Odisha FC. However, his time at NorthEast United has been difficult on a personal level. He has not played a single minute of football in the 2023-24 season of the league. For a 25-year-old defender, spending time on the bench is detrimental and he must look for clubs in the I-League that would welcome a former champion with Chennai City FC with open arms.

Narayan Das

Narayan Das is an Indian Super League veteran with over 128 appearances. However, with Jay Gupta’s rise at FC Goa, his involvement has reduced to zero minutes of game time in the 2023-24 season. The 30-year-old possesses a wealth of experience that an I-League team will cherish to put to use. 

Lara Sharma

Bengaluru FC loaned out Lara Sharma to Kerala Blasters FC, hoping that the young goalkeeper would get some game time. However, due to Sachin Suresh’s meteoric rise at the club, Sharma has not featured at all in the league. The Blues should look to offload the custodian to an I-League club for experience as he strives to succeed Gurpreet Singh Sandhu one day.

Bryce Miranda

Bryce Miranda was a huge success in the I-League with Churchill Brothers. He signed with Kerala Blasters FC in 2022 but has failed to secure a regular starting place in the lineup since joining. He has not played a single minute of football in the league as of yet. The 24-year-old must be playing regularly to stay sharp and returning to the I-League can be the right step here for both club and player.

Ayush Chhikara

Ayush Chhikara featured last season for Mumbai City FC, scored in the Super Cup and raised plenty of eyebrows with his hunger to score. However, he has been left to fend for himself after playing only 58 minutes of football in cup competitions and zero in the ISL this season. India desperately needs out-and-out strikers at the national level. This is where Chhikara could be useful and he must move to the I-League to have more opportunities, albeit on a loan.

Gurkirat Singh

Mumbai City FC has a huge number of fabulous domestic players on their roster. Gurkirat Singh is one of those players. However, he is not finding enough game time to stamp his authority. The attacker should be looking at the I-League as a way to feature regularly. A player of his quality must be playing more than 159′ minutes of football out of which only 26 are in the ISL.

Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem

Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem is the only Indian player ever to feature in the AFC Champions League Team of the Season. That was a massive honour for him and an indicator of his huge potential. However, the custodian has fallen behind Arshdeep Singh in the pecking order this season at FC Goa.

While the latter is delivering fabulous performances, Dheeraj Singh is not developing due to time spent on the bench. Any I-League team will be lucky to have a goalkeeper of his calibre and a winter transfer ought to help Dheeraj in finding more gametime in the I-League.

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