ISL has given Indian football team a new identity in the world: Rohit Sharma

Mumbai (IANS). Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma has lauded the Indian Super League (ISL) for helping the national football team achieve great strides in world football.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said he sees a lot of confidence in the Blue Tigers and backed them to do well in the upcoming international football season.

Rohit said about the Indian football team during an event, “Where they are at the moment, they have taken a big jump. ISL played a huge role in it. The most important thing is that people got exposure. In cricket too When the IPL started, many of our local players got a chance to play alongside international stars. This is the benefit of the league in India.”

The Indian national team has performed well in recent times by winning several multi-national tournaments, starting with a win at the Intercontinental Cup in Odisha in June. They followed it up with an emphatic victory at the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) in Bengaluru in July.

Taking this momentum forward, the Sunil Chhetri-led side will be eyeing an impressive performance at the Asian Games and AFC Asian Cup, to be held early next year.

Rohit also said that he would love to see the Indian team compete against some of the top European teams in future.

The Indian captain further added, “I would like them to play against one of the top European teams and fight hard. Whenever I watch them play, they look very confident and there are many strong players in the team.”

The Indian national football team is set to participate in the King’s Cup in Thailand ahead of the Asian Games in September-October.

Rohit, on the other hand, will lead the Men in Blue in the much-anticipated ICC Men’s ODI World Cup to be held in India from October 5 to November 19.