 "Sunil Chhetri will be retiring as India's most capped played of all time as well as the fourth-highest goal-scorer in men's international football. PTI")
Two days after his announcement took Indian football by storm, talismanic forward and current national team captain Sunil Chhetri revealed his decision to call time on his international career was driven by “instinct”, and that he is eyeing a “sabbatical” once he’s completed his obligations in the domestic circuit as well.
The 39-year-old on Wednesday announced his decision to retire from international football , bringing the curtains down on a stellar career that began in 2005, during which he scored 94 goals — the third-most among active players after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi — in 150 appearances.
Read | What all did Chhetri say in his retirement announcement video
He will be making his final appearance for the Blue Tigers in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Kuwait at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium on 6 June, and will retire as India’s most capped player of all time.
“The retirement decision was not because of physical aspect. I am still very fit, running, chasing, defending, the hard work is not difficult. The reason (of the decision) is the mental part which the difficult part,” said Chhetri during a virtual interaction from Bhubaneswar.
“It started with the instinct which I cannot explain why it came because I even don’t know. When the instinct came that this is the time for me to stop, then I started thinking about a lot of things. It (retirement decision) was not easy, it took some time. But I am at peace, I took the right decision.”
Read | With Sunil Chhetri around, there was always hope
Chhetri said he has given his best for the team and it’s the right time to walk away.
“It is of prime importance to me that I bring value to the team. Sometimes it might happen because of what we have become, that I am still tied by the team and that is something which I never wanted. When you grow older, a lot of priorities change.
“In terms of numbers, in terms of GPS vests (to monitor fitness of players), in terms of what I bring to the table, till the time I am in the national team I wanted that I have some value.
“When you are in prime, you add more value when you are not in much of form you have less value but it keeps going. But now I came to a stage where I really wanted to leave the national team and I know I am leaving in a very nice stage because there are so many players who are going to do well.”
Asked when the thought of retirement struck him first, he said, “I don’t know the exact date, but 10 to 15 days post the Afghanistan game I started thinking about retirement.”
India suffered a shock 1-2 defeat to Afghanistan in Guwahati on 26 March, which attracted a lot of criticism for the team and head coach Igor Stimac.
“I was fighting with myself, trying to think holistically. How I feel physically, what are our next goals, what will happen to the national team, all these things came to my mind. But the announcement has come one month after I took the decision.
“I would have announced it earlier but I was hit by chicken pox. I was isolated for 15-18 days in a room. Then I took 12-14 days to get fit. This is why I was in peace when I made the announcement. The difficult part was when I told myself that it’s the end.”
Read | Chhetri’s madness to push his limits helped him play for India for 19 years: Gouramangi
Chhetri said he might play for two more years in the domestic circuit before taking a sabbatical. His contract with the Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC runs till next year.
“One or two year maximum. I don’t know, I will be playing (domestic football), I am with Bengaluru FC for another year. I don’t know when will I end this journey. I want to take a sabbatical after that and I don’t want to jump into any thing.
“But I will never be far from Indian football. I will definitely give back to my sport but first I will first see if I will be of any value. There will be a lot of crying on June 7, I will be relaxing the next day. After June 8, I will take a break and will stay with my family. From July 1, I will start pre-season training with Bengaluru FC.”
Asked if he would consider coaching or try administrative post after the end of his playing career, Chhetri said, “I will not say never, I will think during my sabbatical but it’s not very high on my agenda as of now.”
The iconic player added that he had consulted India coach Igor Stimac before announcing his decision.
“When I went to Stimac and told him about my retirement decision, he understood it. He did not stop me. We had a nice short chat and he said ‘all right let us make sure that we come together and we ensure that we win the game’.”
Read | ‘Impossible to replace a legend like him’: Stimac, Gurpreet pay tribute to Chhetri
He said he would want people to remember him as a hard-working player.
“Earlier, I never paid any heed to questions on my legacy, but now I think people should remember me as a hardworking player and also a good-looking player,” he said with a chuckle.
“I never thought I would score so many goals, 94, not reaching 100 goals never bothers me. I am fortunate and proud to have played 150 matches for my country in 19 years, that is the number I really love. It’s unique and extraordinary.
“Playing 150 matches will be on top of everything if I have to tell my son what I had achieved as a footballer.”
Chhetri picked his debut match for India against Pakistan in 2005 and playing in three Asian Cup tournaments as his best moments.
He added that qualifying for the first time in the World Cup third round qualifiers on 6 June will be the other best moment.
“We are a developing country in football. What we want to achieve is a long distance away. Slowly and steadily, we took five steps ahead and then went back three steps, then we took two steps ahead and one step back. It has been topsy-turvy, not easy.
“In the last 10 years, we are moving towards where we want to go, we want to be in top 10 in Asia and stay there. We are generally between 16 and 19 in Asia in rankings.”
With PTI inputs