New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) With the Indian national team struggling and free-falling through FIFA rankings, and a spot in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 looking doubtful, football coach Ravi Kumar Punia believes the need of the hour is to have an Indian head coach at the helm of the senior men’s national team.

With no head coach at the helm, after the departure of Manolo Marquez, Ravi Kumar Punia believes given the success of Crispin Chhetri with the women’s side, familiarity is key and an Indian tactician like Khalid Jamil would be a better choice for men’s national team head coach.

“Why promote someone else when we have good coaches here? We have Khalid Jamil and many others with the right qualities. In your family, your father knows everyone well – their strengths and what they can do. Similarly, in Indian football, if we bring in someone from outside, even with good experience, they won’t connect with the players the same way.

“An Indian coach has seen these players grow from the grassroots to higher levels. In my opinion, the head coach of the Indian team should be Indian. I’m sure the results would be different because he knows the players’ strengths and what they can or can’t do during tournaments,” Punia told IANS.

The former defender who helped Rajasthan United secure I-League qualification in 2021, also weighed in on the recent debate of whether relegation should be introduced in the ISL, stating that I-League teams currently do not have the finances to compete with the top division clubs.

“The ISL operates at a high level with solid financial backing. I-League clubs, however, struggle financially and aren’t promoted enough to reach that level. The FSDL wants I-League clubs to qualify with strong financial backing so they can compete.

“If an ISL club gets relegated to I-League, they still have resources and good players. I think promoting more teams to the I-League and increasing matches would help. Everyone would get a chance to play in the ISL,” he added.

–IANS

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