M S Dhoni believes Indian football is on the right track with ISL

Joining the congratulations party for the young Blue Colts as they defeated heavy weight opponents in their recent encounters, former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes that Indian football is on the right track, he said in a promotional event in Mumbai.

Overall, Indian football as of late had been very exceptional but equal credits also goes to the U16 team, who has just been phenomenal defeating teams that were way stronger than them on both papers and ground. Now, as they thrived on Yemen with a score of 3-0 to finish off the WAFF U-16 Championship in style, they are headed to the preparation for the upcoming AFC U-16 Championship in Malaysia to compete among top 16 teams in Asia.

Speaking of the glory The Blue Tigers have achieved, the two times world champions M S Dhoni, one of the most successful captains of India said that Indian Super League has been very essential to this rise of football in India. “With each season, the quality of games is improving in all aspects. Indian Super League has been crucial as it gave a platform for all age groups to try their skills and luck out. This changes the scenario of Indian football completely,” said Dhoni, who is also a co-owner of the ISL franchise Chennaiyin FC.

“Indian Super League, from the start brought some world class stars to play in here who might not been in their best when they came but still there were plenty of things that had to be learned from them. It set the benchmark where these young players should aim for. That, the possibilities are endless if they wish to chase their favourite sport by going out and play the game instead of being glued to their play stations in their room. Sports are meant to be played in the ground and everyone should go out and play,” further added the former Indian skipper talking about the contributions Indian Super League has made to the current scenario in the Indian football.

The helicopter shot inventor also quoted that the inability to use the infrastructure in the right way that is already here is the problem. “During the National Games, the facilities in all those centers were improved but once the games are done and dusted with, what would be of those centres? That’s the real question. Developing new sporting infrastructure might be the need of the hour but how to use them in proper way is equally important.”

Speaking of the future of all the sports in India, Dhoni quoted, “Sports is something that just doesn’t happens overnight. You need to be very patient with it because it takes hours and hours of practice every day to get better and that takes time. The sporting culture cannot be overgrown right away and that’s what many people need to understand. It’s not like that if I start playing my sport from today, I will start earning wads of cash from tomorrow or wins an Olympic medal the next time. It’s a long term investment, you give the infrastructure to the players, you train them and then when the time is right, you achieve what you want.”