Suhail Bhat: Missing piece of jigsaw puzzle that cost India historic AFC U23 Asian Cup qualification

Suhail Bhat scored a brace against Indonesia U23 on Friday.

When the Indian U23 team took the field against Indonesia in a friendly on October 10, the fans were expecting the Blue Colts to continue the momentum after the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers. The team did what was expected, but the task was completed by an individual whose absence played a huge role in India narrowly missing out on the first-ever qualification for the AFC U23 Asian Cup.

Suhail Bhat, the emerging striker, made a return to the Indian U23 team and proved why he is the most prolific goal scorer in that team. The Mohun Bagan forward scored two breathtaking goals to lead India to a comprehensive victory in the first of the two friendly games against Indonesia.

Jaw-dropping return

Suhail’s performance against Indonesia gave Indian football fans a mix of emotions to deal with. On one hand, there was overwhelming ecstasy of watching a young Indian striker do what a striker should do, and on the other, there was anguish that originates from circumstances not under anyone’s control but those who run the Indian Football.

The two goals that Suhail scored against Indonesia made him look like an ideal prototype of a successful striker. His first goal was characterised by tenacity, speed, and precision of the highest order. The 20-year-old pressed and cashed in on an ill-directed pass from the opposition player.

As soon as he gained control of the ball, he switched on his afterburner to leave the opposition defenders miles behind. And, at the end, he did what Indian Football fans crave for – precision in front of the goal. Suhail took a lightning shot from a narrow angle to ripple the top left corner, giving India the lead.

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For the second goal, he displayed poacher’s instincts. A heavy cross from the left wing found an onrushing Ayush Chhetri, who pushed the ball towards Suhail. In the midst of all the chaos, Suhail fired the ball into the goal, giving no chance to the opposition goalkeeper to make a save.

After watching these two sublime goals, Indian fans had no option but to wonder what if Suhail had a place in the squad for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Unfortunate unavailability

Suhail Bhat was not released by Mohun Bagan Super Giant for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers. The Mariners cited the AFC Champions League 2 fixtures as the reason behind Suhail’s unavailability for the qualifiers. However, besides ACL 2, another prominent reason was the strain between the club and the AIFF over player management.

Injury to Mohun Bagan’s skipper, Subhasish Bose, on international duty in March, which was later refuted by the federation, was the origin of this discord. Mohun Bagan blamed the federation for not properly managing the players, and the federation responded by stating that Bose played for Mohun Bagan after the international break as well, removing any possibility of sustaining an injury during the international break.

This dispute led to Mohun Bagan’s decision not to release any player, be it for the senior national team or the U23 team. As a result, Suhail Bhat missed out on an opportunity to lead India’s attack in a campaign that could have ended on a historic note.

Also Read: India U23 vs Indonesia U23 Player Ratings: Suhail Bhat shines with brace, Ricky impactful in defense

Makeshift Striker

Suhail Bhat’s unavailability pushed Naushad Moosa to try another player in his place. He gave Parthib Gogoi the responsibility to lead the attack, playing as a No.9. NorthEast United FC’s young sensation played a role that was not natural to him.

Gogoi flourishes playing on the wings, but he had to shift centrally, which had a cascading effect on his game. There were no major contributions from Parthib in the qualifying campaign, and he finished the qualifiers with no goals to his name. The Blue Colts scored nine goals in three qualifying fixtures, but none came from the striker, Parthib Gogoi.

A goal difference that would haunt for years

India won two of the three qualifying fixtures. The Blue Colts started with an impressive 2-0 win against a formidable Bahrain. In the second game, India fought till the end against the hosts, Qatar, and for a major part of the game, the Blue Colts had the upper hand. However, a red card to Pramveer changed the complexion of the game, which ended in Qatar’s favour with a 2-1 score line.

Before the last game against Brunei, India required a double-digit number in terms of goals to edge past other second-placed teams on goal difference. However, India could only score six goals, which is not a bad performance by any means, but was not enough to secure a ticket to the AFC U23 Asian Cup.

India finished with six points and a positive goal difference of seven. Among the eleven second-placed teams, India finished fifth. Eventually top four second-placed teams qualified for the tournament. The Blue Colts missed out only on goal difference.

UAE, the team that finished fourth, had an equal number of points but had the edge due to a positive goal difference of fourteen compared to India’s seven. Suhail Bhat could have helped India bridge that gap. International football is harsh, and if we don’t control the controllable, results won’t follow.

Time for Khalid Jamil to take the leap of faith?

The Indian senior men’s team has been struggling to score goals for quite some time. Apart from Sunil Chhetri, who had to come out of retirement, no striker can raise his hand and step up to score goals at will. Sunil’s return is reflective of the tragedy that Indian Football is going through.

A 41-year-old veteran who has done all that he could for his country had to put on his boots again to save his team from a looming disaster. Players like Rahim Ali, Irfan Yadwad, and Farukh Choudhary have been given opportunities in the past to fill that void, but that void is probably too big to fill for them.

As India stare at a catastrophic elimination from the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, now is the time for Khalid Jamil to take that big leap of faith and give a well-deserved opportunity to Suhail Bhat to lead India’s attack. The striker from Jammu and Kashmir has consistently scored goals for India at various age-group levels and for his club, Mohun Bagan.

Like a young Sunil, who was allowed to thrive as India’s No.9, it is time for a young Suhail to make his way to the big boys’ club and show that he belongs there. But for that, Khalid Jamil will have to put his faith in the youngster.

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