Farewell Captain Fantastic

Sunil Chhetri's international retirement marks the end of an era, and his absence leaves a gaping void in the Indian team

- Ravi Raj

For the followers of Indian football, shocking revelations rarely shake them, but what they saw coming for quite some time has shaken them to their core: the knowledge that Sunil Chhetri will no longer be available for the national duty, after the game against Kuwait on 6th June. It's always been one of the things best not to imagine, or you risk succumbing to unpleasant emotions. Is it really happening? His diminutive stature belied the towering influence he had on the team, an anchor holding the rogue ship that's never far from losing its head. In a country not blessed with an abundance of talents, how do you fill the Chhetri-shaped void? The simple answer is you can not. You just move on, begrudgingly.