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ATK Mohun Bagan star Roy Krishna has been called up for national duty and will miss the club's matches in the latter half of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 season. The forward will captain the Fiji national team in the upcoming Oceania qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
After being called up, the ATK Mohun Bagan striker tweeted:
“Blessed to be given the opportunity to fly the Fijian flag again.”
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Krishna will join the Fiji national squad on March 8, a day after the Mariners take on Jamshedpur FC in their last group stage game, according to a Hindustan Times report. This means Krishna will miss the entirety of the knockout phase of the ISL if ATKMB do qualify.
On March 18, Fiji will begin their World Cup Qualifiers campaign against New Caledonia. They will face New Zealand three days later, followed by Papua New Guinea on March 24.
Meanwhile, Roy Krishna hasn't managed to hit the highs of his previous campaigns in the current ISL season, scoring four goals and four assists in 10 matches. Since his game against Odisha FC, the 2020-21 ISL top-scorer has not played a minute due to injury.
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A look at ATK Mohun Bagan's form on the field
Even without Roy Krishna firing on all cylinders, ATK Mohun Bagan are still the ISL team to watch out for this season. After recruiting Juan Ferrando as their new head coach, the Mariners have galloped to a 11-game unbeaten streak in the league. They are currently second in the league with 29 points from 15 matches, behind Hyderabad FC on goal difference.
While Krishna did the bulk of the scoring last season, Ferrando distributed the responsibility across the front three after taking over. The likes of David Williams, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh and Hugo Boumous have all extended their goal contributions this year.
In their last game, ATK Mohun Bagan displayed a clinical performance against a struggling FC Goa side to bag a 2-0 victory. The Mariners will be up against Kerala Blasters FC this Saturday.
