There is no doubt that the Indian Super League has provided young Indian talent a fantastic platform to showcase their ability on the big stage.
This season has seen a plethora of promising youngsters grabbing the opportunity and making an impact in the league that reaches out to millions of Indian households across the country.
When India played host to the FIFA Under 17 World Cup in 2017, it allowed a developing U-17 team to feature in the showpiece event. Three years down the line, some of these youngsters have emerged as bankable players who are making a mark in the ISL.
A regular starter in the Odisha FC lineup, Hendry Antony has been the go-to man for attacking overlapping runs and crosses on the left flank apart from fulfilling his defensive duties. His youthful energy has seen this left-back from Karnataka garner an assist in Odisha’s goals this season.
An unsung hero many times, Suresh Wangjam is another player who has impressed with his stamina. The 20-year-old from Manipur leads the list of several tackles made by a Bengaluru FC player this season with 36 tackles so far. He has been effective in man-marking and has been the ideal box-to-box midfielder.
Lalengmawia or Apulia as he is called, has been spectacular in his discipline and work rate in the midfield and has had so much faith imposed in him by Ex-Northeast United coach Gerard Nus (NEUFC parted ways with Nus just recently midseason) that the 20-year old from Mizoram sported the Captain’s armband in a few matches.
Jeakson Singh is another attacking midfielder who has impressed in the chances he has been given by Kerala Blasters. Jeakson was the first Indian player to score a goal in a FIFA competition when he netted a headed goal versus the Columbia U-17 side. He was declared the emerging player of the match in his first game in ISL last season itself and has one goal to his name so far this season.
Rahim Ali, Aniket Jhadav, Rahul KP, all 20-year-olds who were a part of the India squad for the U-17 FIFA World Cup, in 2017, are making a big impact in the attacking third for their respective teams in the ISL.
Rahim can play as a winger and a striker, and is currently the joint second highest goal scorer for Chennaiyin FC this season so far, while Aniket Jhadav from Kolhapur has been impressive for Jamshedpur FC in a few games. It’s the same story for Rahul KP, the immensely talented lad from Thrissur, who played in the three FIFA U-17 World Cup games for India in three different positions.
The writer is a Sports Broadcaster who has worked on assignments for leading sports networks in India and abroad. He is a commentator for Hero ISL in Hindi on Star Sports