"Welcome back champion", "Fantastic news" - Fans react as Sunil Chhetri comes out of retirement to help India in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers

Sunil Chhetri has reversed his retirement from international football to help India in the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers. Chhetri's name was present in the Indian football squad announced by the All India Football Federation for the upcoming FIFA International Window in March.

The Indian men's football team is scheduled to play two matches in March. The first one is an international friendly against the Maldives football team on March 19, followed by an AFC Asia Cup third-round match against the Bangladesh football team on March 25.

Shillong will play host to both the matches. The news of Chhetri coming out of retirement has sent the fans into a frenzy. Reacting to the tweet from AIFF, a fan wrote on X:

"Welcome back champion"

Bengaluru FC's X handle also shared a special post for Chhetri, which read:

"Maybe all goodbyes are just an 'I’ll see you soon' in disguise. Pull the bookmark out. Search for the key. Press play.."

Another overjoyed fan shared a meme, which read 'Utsav Ki Taiyaari Karo' (Start the preparations for a celebration) and commented:

"Fantastic news."

Some fans had mixed reactions to Sunil Chhetri coming out of retirement

While the majority of the fans were over the moon after reading the news of Chhetri coming out of retirement, some X users also pointed out how this development shows the lack of quality in Indian football. An X user replied to AIFF's post:

"On one side I am happy to see him back in Indian colours again, but on the other hand it's really sad & unfortunate that in the entire country we couldn't find a replacement of Sunil Chhetri."

Another X user mentioned that he was happy and sad at the same time after seeing the development. He tweeted:

"Happy & sad for the same reason. Even at 40, Sunil Chhetri is the biggest goal threat for India."

Chhetri will likely don the blue jersey again in the friendly match against Maldives on March 19. It will be his first match for India since the match against Kuwait last June.