Indian quartet may make it to S-League

India8217;s poor showing in the World Cup qualifiers is just one side of the story. The other part 8212; a positive one 8212; is that ski...

India8217;s poor showing in the World Cup qualifiers is just one side of the story. The other part 8212; a positive one 8212; is that skipper Bhaichung Bhutia and four other players from the team have caught the eye of Singapore8217;s Home United club coach Steve Darby.

Bhaichung apart, Mahindra United8217;s Shanmugam Venkatesh, Everready8217;s Renedy Singh, and Mohun Bagan8217;s Debabrata Roy and Jerry Zirsanga, as Darby gave away to The Indian Express today.

Darby said: 8220;Bhutia of course is my first choice. But the price tag has been a hindrance.8217;8217;

The Indians went down 0-2 to Singapore to register their fifth consecutive loss in the qualifiers. But with the national S-League beginning in January, scouting for players to fill up the overseas professionals8217; places have begun. Bhaichung, interestingly, had attracted quite a bit of attention in Singapore a couple of seasons back. Both Home United and Geylang Sporting had approached him.

Bhaichung8217;s price tag, however, has opened up new vistas for the other four.

Venkatesh and Renedy for starters, about who Darby says, 8216;8216;they fit in perfectly with Home United8217;s plans for the forthcoming season.8217;8217;

Singling out Venkatesh, Darby says, 8216;8216;We have four foreigners, but want to offload one of them. Venkatesh fits the role perfectly. And he is part of our shortlist.8217;8217;

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About the other two, Darby says, 8216;8216;Defender Debabrata and wing-back Jerry play with a lot of understanding and can build a future of any team.8217;8217;

Which brings us to the future. The possibilities for the foursome is enormous, but it remains to be seen whether the price tag factor works out, other administrative hassles are ironed out, and most importantly, whether their clubs release them.

The last, as one might recall, is what prevented Sandip Nandy, Alvito Da Cunha and Syed Rahim Nabi from signing with South Africa8217;s Manning Rangers after they impressed as part of the visiting IFA XI side in 2002.