At the age of 39, India captain Sunil Chhetri announced on Thursday that he will be retiring from international football, capping a record-breaking two-decade career for his nation.
In 150 appearances for India, the attacker has scored 94 goals, placing him third among active international goal scorers after only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He also has the most caps among Indian players.Chhetri declared in a video statement posted on the social networking site X that his final international match will be on June 6 in Kolkata, during the 2026 World Cup qualifier against Kuwait. “It’s not that I was feeling tired, not that I was feeling this or that,” he said. “When the instinct came that this should be my last game, I thought about it a lot and eventually I came to this decision,” he said. India are second in qualifying Group A with four points, behind Qatar. “The game against Kuwait demands pressure, we need the three points to qualify for the next round. It’s hugely important for us,” the skipper said. “But in a strange way, I don’t feel the pressure because these 15-20 days with the national team and the match against Kuwait is the last,” he added. Across club and country, Chhetri’s goal tally stands at 252 from 515 appearances, averaging almost a goal every two games. In India’s most recent match, a 2-1 World Cup qualifying loss to Afghanistan in March, he scored a penalty. Following the news, Chhetri’s Indian Super League team Bengaluru FC wrote on X, “He’s been the one constant through it all—the phases, the faces, the eras and battles.” “He’s going to do it one last time, and we can never be grateful enough for the giant that walked amongst men.”
