Indian Football Team: 'Need To Build A Team Beyond Sunil Chhetri,' Says Shyam Thapa; Urges For Young Blood

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Indian football legend Shyam Thapa urges the national team to look beyond ageing Sunil Chhetri while urging to go for young Turks after the embarrassing results against Afghanistan in vital FIFA World Cup Qualifier matches.

Despite the 39-year-old striker scoring his 94th international goal in his 150th match during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers last Tuesday, the lower-ranked war-torn nation looked more convincing than India throughout the match.

"That is the problem we are facing because he's the only one who scores goals. That's why India depends on Sunil Chhetri," Shyam Thapa told MyKhel. "And at the club level too, he's scoring goals, but the coach (Igor Stimac) should also consider grooming some young players and prepare them for the senior team."

Stimac, however, has mentioned that the problem lies in the Indian football system, where clubs turn to foreign names for goals instead of developing a number 9. For instance, Mohun Bagan's top choice are Australia's Jason Cummings and Dimitri Petratos whereas Kerala Blasters rely on Dimitrios Diamantakos.

Shyam Thapa (76), who is hailed as one of the best attackers to play for the national team, also said that Stimac should take it upon himself to develop forward for the future while looking at talents from the age-group national teams.

"Sunil Chhetri works hard, and it shows on the field. Whenever India gets a corner, Sunil scores from headers, and sometimes he scores from open play. It's not a one-man sport. I always believe that the coach should now consider bringing in some talented players from the U-19 or U-20 teams," said Thapa.

Indian strikers mostly sit on the bench or play as wide forwards in the ISL, whether it's Ishan Pandita for Kerala Blasters or Ayush Chhikara for Mumbai City FC. Goals through wide forward positions could be the other option but players in those positions -- Lallinzuala Chhangte, Manvir Singh, Vikram Pratap Singh -- have failed to prove themselves as potent goalscoring threat.

India and Igor Stimac have to find answers because time is running out. The Indian football team will play the final two matches of its second-round FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign against Kuwait and Qatar in June.