The Indian Super League returned to its traditional home and away format after a brief Covid-19 induced break, which forced the tournament to held in Goa. The action has been intense over the league stage, with Mumbai City FC capturing the Shield title.
ISL, just like in its past editions, has provided the right platform for Indian talents to thrive and shine along with foreign stars.
Here are the top five young Indian talents who took the ISL by storm this season.
Sivasakthi Narayan
After bursting into the scenes in the Durand Cup title win for Bengaluru FC, Sivasakthi Narayan took his time to settle in his maiden ISL season.
It didn’t help that Bengaluru was going through a torrid run of form, with no fluidity up front. Indian legend Sunil Chettri was a shadow of himself, while new signing Roy Krishna took his time to get his feet sorted.
But once Simone Grayson cracked the ideal setup for the side, Bengaluru set on an incredible winning streak, which secured it a playoff spot, while ending Mumbai City’s unbeaten streak on the way.
Siva Sakthi, who has six goals for Bengaluru FC this season, in action in the Indian Super League. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports / ISL
A key ingredient to Bengaluru’s revival is the goal scoring prowess of Sivasakthi, who succeeded in replacing Chettri up top. The 22-year-old attacked has formed a lethal partnership with Krishna, scoring six goals in process.
Bengaluru will be hoping its prodigious attacker will continue his magical touch as it looks to reclaim the ISL title it last won 2019.
Lalengmawia Ralte
Lalengmawia Ralte, more commonly referred to as Apuia, has been the lynchpin of an almost-invincible Mumbai City side which took ISL side by storm, nabbing the Shield title on the way.
The 22-year-old midfielder, who joined Mumbai in the previous season, has been the anchor for Buckingham’s side, enabling his colleagues to thrive up the field. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports/ ISL
Des Buckingham’s side is studded with some of the best foreign talents the league had to offer, following the acquisitions of Greg Stewart and Jorge Pereyra Diaz.
But Mumbai’s success is equally build on the prowess of its Indian talents, with Apuia the brightest star of the lot.
The 22-year-old midfielder, who joined Mumbai in the previous season, has been the anchor for Buckingham’s side, enabling his colleagues to thrive up the field.
To add to it, Apuia also scored three goals, his best tally in his ISL career.
Naorem Mahesh Singh
Naorem Mahesh Singh of East Bengal FC and Mohammad Mobashir Rahman of East Bengal FC celebrates a goal against Mumbai City FC. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports / ISL
The lone bright spot in yet another disappointing campaign for East Bengal was the performance of its young attacker Naorem Mahesh Singh.
Despite his side finishing second-to-last in the table with just 19 points, Mahesh racked up seven assists and is currently second in the league tally for it. The 23-year-old Manipur born attacker struck a solid partnership with Cleiton Silva, with four of his seven assists being finished off by the Brazilian attacker.
Mahesh’s standout performance of the season was during his side’s 3-1 away win over Jamshedpur FC, where he recorded three assists.
Isak Vanlalruatfela
Odisha’s maiden entry into the ISL playoffs was aided by some consistent performances from its Indian winger Isak Vanlalruatfela.
Isak Vanlalruatfela of Odisha FC won the Emerging Player of the month award in January for his brilliant performance in the Indian Super League. | Photo Credit: Focus Sports/ ISL
Isak, who joined Odisha in 2020, has made the best out of the limited playing time he was afforded in Josep Gombau’s side. The Mizoram-born winger scored and assisted two goals apiece to help his side in finish in the top-six.
Isak’s best showing came early on in the season when his goal and assist helped his side to a 2-2 draw against Chennaiyin. FC.
Vincy Barretto
Chennayin was well in the race for a finish in the playoff spot for most of the season. But a confluence of bad form and unluck forced Thomas Brdaric’s side out of contention for a top-six finish.
Vincy Barretto of Chennaiyin FC scoring a goal against Jamshedpur FC. | Photo Credit: Ragu R / The Hindu
Out of a handful of positives from this season for Chennaiyin, a prominent one was the acquisition and subsequent rise of Vincy Barretto. The 23-year-old, who was signed from Kerala Blasters before the season, was an irrepressible force for Bradaric’s side in the wings.
The Goan attacker nicked three goals and two assists this thanks to his tireless running as he proved himself to be a talent worth holding on to.
Comments
SHARE