Kerala Blasters part ways with captain Sandesh Jhingan

The India international has been with the club since their inception in 2014.

Kerala Blasters and their skipper Sandesh Jhingan have parted ways. According to a Khel Now source close to the development, the player's camp has informed the outfit that he has an offer from a foreign club and asked to be released.

Jhingan had joined Kerala Blasters in 2014 and has been a leader for them on and off the pitch. Although, he had to sit out the 2019-20 season due to an injury which he suffered before the start of the campaign while on national duty.

Khel Now can also confirm that the club is eyeing a potential wage cut for domestic players as well. A few days ago, we had reported that Kerala Blasters were looking to get their foreign players to take a pay cut in light of the COVID-19 situation. But now it is believed that senior management is pushing the Indian players down the same path.

Having finished a lowly seventh spot in the league, with just four wins from 18 matches, Kerala Blasters failed to make it to the playoffs for the third season in a row. Later, in April, Eelco Schattorie too was sacked as the head coach and Mohun Bagan’s I-League winning coach Kibu Vicuna was named as his replacement.

Along with it, the signings of Tiri and Nishu Kumar showed promise from the management and displayed commitment in fixing the problems in defence. Bengaluru FC's Prabhsukhan Singh Gill and Real Kashmir's Ritwik Das have also been linked with the club.

Losing Sandesh Jhingan will be a big blow, especially for the fans, who were hoping to see off-the-field chemistry between Tiri and Jhingan materialize on the pitch.

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