Indian Leagues, over the years have produced a lot of Indian players and some of them have been making us proud with their wonderful performances throughout the season. But yet, there are a number of Indian players in the Indian Super League who got overshadowed under the big names, or might not have fitted into a system which the coach wanted and ended up with almost nil or a very little amount game time. Let’s have a quick glance at 6 such players who deserved more game time this season and could have proved to be a one to watch out for, for opponent teams.
Here are the Top 6 of Such Indian Players, we sorted out:
1. SAMUEL LALMUANPUIA:
Samuel Lalmuanpuia also known as Samuela had recently joined the ISL side Kerala Blasters at the start of this Season, from the Meghalaya based Shillong Lajong FC. Samuela came up from the Shillong Lajong FC youth team and represented their club’s main team from for four long seasons- from 2015 to 2019 and was one of the most valuable players of his Team. Samuela caught eyes in I-League 2018-19, when Shillong Lajong decided to field an All Indian Team in the I-League. Though their team was relegated unfortunately but the performances of their young guns did attract a lot of attention. Samuela was one of the stand out performers among them.
Not only in I-League, but Samuela also impressed everyone with his performance in the Continental competitions when he went on loan to play the AFC Competitions for Minerva Punjab FC, the defending Champions of I-League, then. That is when, ISL side Kerala Blasters FC decided to sign this young talent from Mizoram. Born on 27th July, 1998, in Mizoram, Samuel Lalmuanpuia has got a gem of a right foot and can cause menace to the opposition with his perfect intuitive crosses, passing and shooting.
Playing as a CAM Samuela was expected to be a great addition to the Kerala based ISL side, but to the disappointment of the fans he never got any substantial amount of gametime under his belt, the entire season. under the tutelage of Elco Schattorie.
However, Samuela is only 21 years old as of now. If used properly in near future and given a good amount of game time, this Indian Player can turn out to be a superstar for his club and the nation. Hoping for more wonderful performances to come up, here’s the first name in our list, Samuel Lalmuanpuia.
2. AIBANBHA KUPAR DOHLING:
Another Indian Player who must be talked about in this list is Aibanbha Kupar Dohling. Commonly known as Aiban Dohling, the 24 year old Defender from Meghalaya also hails from the same team as Samuel Lalmuanpuia, Shillong Lajong FC. But unlike Samuela, athough Aiban started his career with the Shillong Lajong youths, but later he moved on, to the well known Tata Football Academy, where many talented Indian players begin their dreams at. Aiban was also a part of Shillong Lajong’s U-15 side which qualified for the Final Rounds of the Manchester United Premier Cup, in 2010 before he joined the Tata FA in 2011. In 2016 Aiban was back to Lajong to play for Shillong Lajong FC’s main squad.
Born on 23rd March 1996, this Indian Defender was a strong pillar in the Shillong Lajong defence and was impressive in his last season at Shillong Lajong FC where he marshalled the backline in almost all of their matches. Aiban’s journey with Lajong was only till 2019 as the talent was immediately noted and snapped up by ISL Franchise FC Goa. Aiban was considered to be one of the best defenders in the FC Goa Squad for this season, in terms of Indian Players. But to much disappointment he didn’t get enough chances to feature in the first 11 this season.
However FC Goa are known to use their players quite well, and might surely have plans for him, because the young defender from Meghalaya seemed to be a future prospect for the club with AFC Champions League to come up next. Hope lots more chances come ahead for the young defender so that he can prove his worth and show everyone, his potential.
3. JOBBY JUSTIN:
The next Indian Player, you can’t miss out talking about, is Jobby Justin. One of the brightest names of last season’s I-League, which didn’t take much time to get familiar with people all over the country. Jobby Justin played his early days of football in Kerala where he represented the Kerala U-19 side in the Junior Championships at Kolkata. Jobby used to play as a winger and later was shifted to midfield. But this was not the end. Jobby finally represented Kerala Football Team in the Santosh Trophy, where he played as a striker.
Good days were not far behind, as Kolkata Giants East Bengal, decided to sign him into their team after being impressed by this Indian Player. Jobby started his East Bengal career from CFL 2018. His season went average, with only 2 goals to his name. But it was only a matter of time until Jobby became a Hero in the eyes of East Bengal fans after scoring and assisting in back to back derbies in next season’s I-League,where he ended up with a total of 9 goals to his name; in the process stamping his mark in Indian Football.
ATK decided to sign the star Indian Player from East Bengal. But much to disappointment he was mostly seen on the ATK bench, and only got a few opportunities as a substitute. But also on the other hand he capitalized on those little opportunities to both score and assist for his side.
Hence, instead of him being on the bench, we can hope he will be a great addition to the Team’s attack from upcoming seasons. With Rumors of him going back to East Bengal, it can be easily said that the 26 year old is surely an Indian Player, to watch out for.