Indian national football skipper Sunil Chhetri termed Bangladesh as the most tough opponents among the South Asian nations for his side in the SAFF competitions.

“Lot of teams are doing well in the sub-continent. In the SAFF tournaments, I think Bangladesh are always the tough opponents. We played against Lebanon, they are good. But currently I think Kuwait are quite tough,” Chhetri told the reporters after their last Group A match against Kuwait on Tuesday. 

While asked if he knew about Bangladesh’s recent performance, he said, “We have seen some clips of Bangladesh. As they are not in our group, we haven't watched a lot of their matches. But we heard about their performance.”  

“I think they were really good in the first half against Lebanon. They looked quite tough and have improved a lot. We do not yet know who we are going to face. But once we know who we will face, we will watch more videos on them,” he added. 

Chhetri is always a heart-breaker for Bangladesh. In his 19-year international career, the Indian forward averted Bangladesh a total of four times in SAFF from 2013 to 2021. 

However, the ongoing 14th edition of SAFF – 2023 Bangabandhu SAFF Championship – named after the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

Chhetri, who is one of the most notable and accomplished footballers in the South Asian region, felt that the tournament was something special for Bangladesh, so he expected that the men in red and green would do well.  

“Yes it is always good… It is important to Bangladesh and hope they do well,” he added.   

“Just try to improve and enjoy football. All of us, who play for our nations in this region, have the responsibility to be good role models, so just do better and try to be a better team player, except the time when you play against us,” he ended.