India vs Jordan: 5 I-League players who should have been called up

After facing China in an international friendly, the Indian national football team will go up against Jordan at the King Abdullah II International Stadium on 17th November. In less than a week, we will witness history when the senior teams of both the countries will face each other in a first-ever international friendly between the nations.

Stephen Constantine and his staff have announced the 30-man preliminary squad to face the middle eastern nation. While the squad includes a lot of regular names like Gurpreet Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan, Jeje Lalpekhlua but surprisingly, it includes only one player from the I-League.

With the commercial success of Indian Super League, most of the top players have moved to the cash-rich league. But, as in many other countries, a dearth of young talent is still hidden, waiting to be discovered in the less successful lower tiers.

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#1 Lalchhawnkima

Lalchhawnkima

Lalchhawnkima has had a mysterious career graph in which he has played for numerous ISL and I-League clubs. Before the start of the 18-19 season, Mohun Bagan came in for his services after their players Kinshuk Debnath and Arnab Mondal were snapped up by cross-town rivals ATK and East Bengal respectively.

The Mizoram-born defender has seamlessly slotted into the Mohun Bagan starting XI forming a centre-back partnership with Kingsley. They have kept 1 clean sheet in 3 matches so far. Also, he has already opened his goal-scoring account for Mohun Bagan against his former club Aizawl FC.

If the 27-year old was part of a big ISL club, he would have been part of that 30-man preliminary squad to face Jordan.

#2 Manoj Mohammad

Manoj Mohammad was promoted from the East Bengal academy to the first team before the start of the 18-19 season. After impressing in the Calcutta Football League, surprisingly, Manoj started East Bengal's first match against NEROCA.

Manoj was instrumental in helping his team keep a clean sheet on his I-League debut. The 19-year old provided a goal-line clearance in the 22nd minute of the match. Also, he played a pivotal role in the first goal as his long-throw was misjudged by NEROCA defensive unit and East Bengal's Enrique Esqueda scored the goal.

The 19-year old is just starting out, the whole nation will be pinning their hopes on him becoming a world-class defender.

#3 S Rajesh

S Rajesh in action during the Santosh Trophy

Gokulam Kerala signed S Rajesh from Western Railways after his goal-scoring exploits in the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship.

The top-scorer in Santosh Trophy was used as a substitute in his debut against Mohun Bagan. S Rajesh was a live-wire throughout the game and would have been on the score sheet had it not been for those multiple top-notch saves from Sankar Roy.

Since then, the striker has started 2 of the following 3 league games for Gokulam and has even scored his debut goal for the club against Shillong Lajong.

With forwards like Sumeet Passi and Manvir Singh, who are not even regular starters for their ISL clubs given a nod over S Rajesh, questions should be asked about the selection system for the national team.

#4 Naorem Mahesh Singh

Naorem Mahesh Singh in action against Indian Arrows

The 19-year old Naorem Mahesh Singh was an unknown figure till he ripped apart the former I-League champions Aizawl FC by scoring a brace against them on his debut.

The youngster scored a screamer to open his goalscoring record for Shillong Lajong. The Manipuri forward curled in an effort from outside the box with his left foot as it beat the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper. While the first goal was a treat to the eyes, the second one was all about anticipation as the teenager scored a tap-in to seal the win for his side.

Moreover, he has cited Jackichand Singh as his role model and could have learnt a lot from the FC Goa star had he been a part of the Indian squad to face Jordan.

#5 Abhishek Ambekar

Abhishek Ambekar signing for Mohun Bagan

Abhishek Ambekar was a mainstay in the Minerva Punjab defence in the 17-18 season and was poached by Mohun Bagan during the offseason. He has helped his new club keep a clean sheet in 1 of the 3 matches and his individual performances have been excellent.

The Maharashtra-born defender missed a few years of professional football due to personal reasons or he would have made it to the top earlier. The 27-year old is in the prime of his career and just exudes raw confidence on a football pitch playing in his natural left-back position. Overlooking Ambekar in the current form doesn't make any sense whatsoever.