NEW DELHI: Described as “a wise decision” by the sport’s national federation, Sunil Chhetri’s return from international retirement at 40 is certainly an acknowledgement of his greatness in Indian football but more strikingly, it lays bare the paucity of quality strikers in a country of over 1.4 billion.

The 40-year-old Chhetri was included among the 26 probables for the international friendly against Maldives on March 19 and the Group C opener of the Asian cup qualifiers against Bangladesh on March 25 in Shillong, the Times of India reported adding, India, without a win in the whole of 2024, have been clubbed with Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore with only the top team making it to the continental showpiece in Saudi Arabia.

Head coach Manolo Márquez announced his 26-member squad on Thursday, and it included Chhetri, who will be 40 years, 7 months and 16 days old when India play the Maldives in a friendly on March 19, The Indian Express reported.

Dubbed the Blue Tigers, the team will then proceed to play the opening match of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 qualifiers final round against Bangladesh on March 25 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong. India’s qualification group includes Hong Kong (China), and Singapore for the Asian Cup, where the national team has never progressed past the group stage after losing all their matches in the previous edition, the IE added.

The report further said that the All India Football Federation’s official social media handle quoted Márquez as saying, “The qualification for the Asian Cup is very crucial for us. Given the importance of the tournament and the matches ahead, I discussed with Sunil Chhetri about making a comeback to strengthen the national team. He agreed, and so we have included him in the squad.”

Meanwhile, the PTI reported that no amount of praise is too high for the man who has served the national team with distinction for nearly two decades, eventually ending his glorious career as India’s highest-ever goal scorer with 94 strikes to his name.

When he called time on his international career in May last year, Chhetri was the world’s third leading scorer among active players, behind Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentine icon Lionel Messi.

But his long list of achievements in the sport is one thing, and his coming out of retirement within a year is another.