And yet another ATK player makes our list. ATK have so many talented Indian players that they can create a starting XI of only Indians and still be worthy of defending the title.
Another player who was underutilized last season by ATK is Salam Ranjan Singh. In a team that had foreign Centre backs like Carl McHugh, John Johnson and Agus Garcia to go along with Indian options like Anas Edathodika, Sumit Rathi and Pritam Kotal, it was never going to be easy for Salam Ranjan to find the spot in the starting eleven and as expected, all he managed was four games during the entirety of the season, 4 games when all of McHugh, Johnson and Agus were injured or unavailable for majority of the season.
Salam Ranjan Singh stands at an impressive 1.88 m and there are few players in India who can compete with him in terms of height. Salam has also played 11 matches for the National Team but got dropped as a result of lack of playing time. With the National Team short of options as far as the centre-back slot is concerned, a few good performances would mean Salam getting his place back in the National Team.
Salam was ever so impressive in his only outing in the AFC Asian Cup against Bahrain and is the kind of player India can surely do with while guarding its goal. But for that to happen, Salam needs playing time and it’s highly unlikely that he will get it staying at ATK. With ATK further signing India International Subhasish Bose who can also fill in at Centre-back, the competition for a slot will only get tougher. Thus, it would make a lot of sense for Salam Ranjan Singh to make a loan move to an I-League club, considering his contract with ATK runs until May, 2022.
It’s a decision that would be welcomed by almost all the Indian Football fans, considering that just about everyone in India knows that the National Team is in serious need of a centre back to partner Sandesh Jhingan and Salam Ranjan Singh can be a serious candidate for the position.
With all of the above 5 players on long term contracts, the players will have to fix it out with their respective clubs because the clubs would not let their players go, thereby reducing their squad strength. But shall the players manage to do it, it can help them not only revive their own careers but also help the I-League get back some of its lost glory. With such talented players playing in the I-League, the demand for it would only grow and it could be a Win-Win situation for both- THE PLAYER AS WELL AS THE LEAGUE.