Sunil Chhetri Retirement

Khalid Jamil Gives IMPORTANT UPDATE on Sunil Chhetri Retirement Plan

Sportsdunia Desk

Modified - Nov 10, 2025, 11:59 AM

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Sunil Chhetri

Summary

Sunil Chhetri officially retired from international football after India’s AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifier exit.
He had earlier reversed his retirement at head coach Manolo Márquez’s request to help India in the qualifiers.
After six matches and one goal in his comeback, Chhetri asked current coach Khalid Jamil to exclude him from the squad, marking the end of his international career.

Following India's unexpected elimination from the final round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, Sunil Chhetri has formally ended his international career. At an emotional farewell at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata in June 2024, India's talismanic forward announced his retirement from international football. But at the request of head coach Manolo Márquez, he broke his retirement earlier this year and returned to the national team for the Asian Cup qualifiers.

Chhetri played a total of six matches during his comeback, scoring just once. Despite his heartfelt effort, India failed to qualify. Sunil Chhetri retirement from international football is soon to come, as evidenced by his request to Khalid Jamil, the current Indian manager, to remove him from the team following the campaign. He told the gaffer to take him out of the dead-rubber AFC Asian Qualifier against Bangladesh and form the squad without him.

Why did Sunil Chhetri retire once again?

However, that signalled Sunil Chhetri's second retirement from international football. Although Sunil Chhetri retirement date has not yet been disclosed, the 41-year-old's statement can guarantee it.

While giving an interview with the Times of India, he stated that,

“It was easy telling Khalid sir about my decision. When I joined the national team, my only goal was to help as much as possible in the qualifiers, I probably wouldn't have come back. Once it was clear we couldn't qualify, I was happy to tell the coach and he understood”.

Sunil Chhetri also added

“ There are no regrets, except that we didn't qualify. I gave my best”.

Additionally, he dropped the role of captain in favour of more seasoned players like Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

Who will take Chhetri's place?

Sunil Chhetri retirement leaves the Indian National Football Team with a huge hole. The lack of a proven striker to lead the front line had prompted his return earlier this year, and despite his brief return, the national team has yet to find a consistent goal scorer who can take on the role.

With Chhetri's retirement from international football, India must quickly develop a forward who can replace its most prolific scorer. This challenge could determine the Blue Tigers' future.