How has Nandhakumar Sekar become special weapon for East Bengal's title chase in ISL 2025-26?

East Bengal FC is in contention to win this season’s ISL.

East Bengal soared up to the top of the 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) table with their impressive 2-1 win over Mumbai City on Tuesday (5 May, 2026). Despite going behind in the game, the Red & Gold Brigade showcased a lot of grit to fight their way back into completing an admirable comeback to maintain their superb recent run of form.

Oscar Bruzon has definitely benefited from having a much stronger, more reliable squad at his disposal in this ongoing campaign as compared to the previous one. It’s also allowed him to utilise some of the squad players in a more efficient fashion, getting the best out of them and allowing them to soar in their minutes on the pitch.

One such player who has benefited from the change of things at East Bengal is Nandhakumar Sekar. It was the experienced winger who scored the winning goal for the Kolkata side against Mumbai City and kept their title hopes in place as a result. Often ridiculed for failing to meet expectations, Sekar has proven to be a real surprise package for the Red & Gold Brigade in the ongoing campaign.

He might not be a regular starter anymore, but he seems to have embraced his role as a squad player and someone who can make an impact from the bench. Here, we look at a few years of how Nandkumar has become a special weapon for East Bengal in the 2025-26 ISL campaign.

3. Versatility factor

The interesting aspect about Nandhakumar Sekar that makes him an attractive substitute option for Bruzon is probably the kind of versatility that the winger has to offer. The 30-year-old has primarily operated as a left-winger throughout his ISL career, but he seems to have grown into the possibility of being able to operate in different roles at East Bengal.

He’s been used as a makeshift right-back at times, even in the midfield and in both the wide areas as well. However, when it comes to the 2025-26 ISL campaign, Sekar has mostly been used in the wide areas by Oscar Bruzon. He’s often been played in the right-wing position, which has been impacted at East Bengal because of the injury issues faced by the likes of Jerry Mawimingthanga and Naorem Mahesh Singh.

To his credit, Nandhakumar has proven to be capable of being a thorn for defenders in both positions – being able to deliver crosses from the right as well as drift in from the left wing to cause chaos. This has added more unpredictability to the East Bengal frontline in the second half, helping them seal victories in a more commanding fashion.

2. Ability to surprise defenders

Nandhakumar Sekar can be a pretty relentless figure in the wide areas for East Bengal, because of his undying spirit in taking the fight to the opponents in the attack. The 30-year-old winger has gained quite a bit of knowledge about Indian football during his time as a professional, and that has enabled him to develop a quality that can surprise defenders with his movement.

The 30-year-old might not be the fastest player on the pitch, but he boasts a rather surprising change of pace and dribbling qualities that can take defenders by surprise. Sekar is quite flexible with his movement in the wide areas, being able to drift in centrally as well as go out wide to make crosses into the box.

It’s his surprising movement and dribbling qualities that have made him a thorn for tired defenders as a substitute, helping add another dimension to East Bengal’s attacking force.

1. Unpredictable goal-scoring factor

East Bengal have had a pretty good depth of goal-scorers in the ongoing ISL campaign. Youssef Ezzejjairi might be the top scorer with 10 goals, but there have been vital goals scored by many other players – including that from Nandhakumar himself!

The 30-year-old might have only started in two ISL matches in the 2025-26 campaign, but that hasn’t stopped him from making an impact as a substitute. Nandhakumar has managed to score three goals in his last five appearances for East Bengal in the ISL, which includes crucial goals in away games against Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC! The winger has taken advantage of opposition defenders not really expecting him to be a major threat and focusing on marking the other forwards like Ezzejjairi, Bipin Singh or Edmund Lalrindika.

With the other players marked, Nandha has thrived in receiving some empty space that has set up more goal-scoring situations for him as well. The 30-year-old has impressively outperformed his 1.1 expected goals (xG) in the 2025-26 ISL, which itself proves how ruthless he’s been as an impact substitute to add more power to East Bengal’s push for ISL glory!

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