SHILLONG: India’s friendly international against Maldives here has gathered more firsts than it promised. When the schedule for India’s matches in this FIFA international window was announced, Wednesday’s friendly was marked as the first time that the senior national team will play in Meghalaya’s capital, ahead of their more important 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Bangladesh next week.
More than the match being the first of its kind in Shillong, however, is Sunil Chhetri’s comeback in national colours. As the 40-year-old is ready to play his 152th international game, after being coaxed out of retirement by the India head coach Manolo Marquez earlier this month, all focus and talk around the game has been around Chhetri.
