Gurpreet Singh Sandhu becomes first Indian of FIFA 17 FUT

What’s the story?

Indian fans of EA’s super popular footballing video game series, FIFA 17, could be in for a pleasant surprise when they open their next pack of players, with Indian goalkeeper, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu becoming the first Indian player to feature on FIFA’s “Ultimate Team” platform.

The Indian shot-stopper, who plies his trade for Norwegian first division outfit Stabæk, has been given an overall rating of 60 by EA.

In case you didn’t know…

EA’s FIFA franchise allows its users, via the Ultimate Team platform, to buy and sell players in an open exchange market where a bidding system is followed. The player being bid for usually goes to the highest bidder within the specified time frame allotted for the bidding process, much like the transfer markets, except this one goes on all year round.

Players are given ratings by FIFA according to the performances and talents of the featured players. These ratings are regularly updated to keep with the latest upturns or downturns in form.

The heart of the matter

Although the Indian national football team has been a regular fixture on all FIFA editions since 2013 after first appearing in the game in the 1998 version of FIFA, this is the first instance of an Indian national team footballer being included in the FIFA 17 FUT player packs.

Gurpreet Singh, who is also the captain of the national team, became the first Indian to start for a first division European club when he represented Stabæk in the Norwegian Tippeligaen. The goalkeeper has been given an overall rating of 60 with the detailed stats being as follows:

ATTRIBUTE	STATS
DIVING	62
HANDLING	59
KICKING	57
REFLEXES	58
SPEED	42
POSITIONING	58

All stat points have a maximum possible rating of 100 with Gurpreet earning a total of 336 points out of a possible 600.

What’s next?

India has been a part of FIFA every year since 2013 and the inclusion of Gurpreet Sandhu reflects the slow but steady progress the nation is making in the development of football in the country.

As more Indians take up football seriously, the number of Indians on FUT is bound to increase in the future.

Sportskeeda’s Take

While Gurpreet’s ratings might be lower than the statistics of the world’s best stoppers (Germany’s Manuel Neuer is rated an otherworldly 92), the fact that one Indian footballer is making it at the top level is certainly a step in the right direction for Indian football and shows that some progress is being made.

Gurpreet might not feature in your daily FIFA FUT sessions, but he will surely be a part of many Indian squads as a matter of national pride.