FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers: Indian football legend PK Banerjee waits for invitation from AIFF to watch India-Bangladesh clash

Kolkata: Legendary footballer PK Banerjee on Monday lamented that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is yet to invite him to watch the India-Bangladesh World Cup qualifier at the Saltlake Stadium here on Tuesday. Excitement for India’s group E clash is at an all time high especially after they secured a historic draw against Asian champions Qatar in their away fixture last month. [caption id=“attachment_3147650” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The AIFF logo. Twitter@IndianFootballTeam[/caption] This is for the first time after eight years India will play at the iconic Saltlake Stadium as all the tickets have been sold out well in advance. The octogenarian Banerjee, who stays in the close proximity to the stadium, is also thrilled but rued that he’s yet to get an invitation. “I’m really excited to see the match. If they invite, I would like to go and watch the full match. But till now, I’ve not got any invitation. I hope they invite me tomorrow,” the 83-year-old told PTI from his Saltlake residence. Banerjee said Bangladesh may have been lowly ranked but they would give India a good fight. “India team has improved a lot in the recent past… But it won’t be an easy match. The visitors are expected to put up a fight but ultimately India will win,” the 1962 Asian Games winner concluded. India last played in Kolkata on 16, November 2011 in a friendly match against Malaysia when they won 3-2 with Sunil Chhetri setting up the win with a double strike. Since then, the gigantic Saltlake Stadium has gone through a facelift as it hosted the Under-17 World Cup summit clash in 2017.