Indian footballers during the ISL player drafts © ISLThe two-day central domestic player draft of the inaugural Hero Indian Super League (ISL) held on July 22 and 23, concluded successfully with each of the ISL clubs using different yardsticks to make their picks and finalize their Indian player line-ups.Forty-two players were selected on each of the two days, with FC Goa and NorthEast United FC announcing the names from their pre-selected pool of players.International midfielder Lenny Rodrigues was the first player to be picked in the first round on the first day, followed by India goalkeeper Subrata Paul, Mehtab Hossain, Harmanjot Khabra, Cavin Lobo and Francis Fernandes. Among the leading players who were picked on the second day were former India captain Climax Lawrence, former India goalkeeper Sandip Nandy and ex-internationals like Steven Dias, N P Pradeep etc.This was the first time in the history of Indian football that such a novel player draft system was executed. At the successful conclusion of the two-day event, senior vice-president, IMG Global Football Development, Jefferson Slack, said that it was very “fulfilling to see this happen”.“It’s so fulfilling to see the realization of the vision and hard work. This is also a step to inspire young Indians not only to follow but also to play the sport as this is a project for the development of Indian football,” he stated.Former India captain Baichung Bhutia, who played the role of an expert analyst at the event, insisted that it was a “learning process” and said it was difficult for him to name a favourite based on the team line-ups. The ‘Sikkimese Sniper’ added that he is looking forward to “seeing new talent emerging and maturing through the ISL while playing with other iconic players”.
