No Michael Chopra for India in Asian Cup

English Championship club Cardiff City FC striker Michael Chopra will not be playing for India in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup next month in Qatar. Sadly the AIFF top brass didn't make any pro-active attempt to fast track British citizen Chopra getting an Indian passport to be eligible under Indian law to represent the country.

Team India captain Baichung Bhutia when recently asked about Michael Chopra had said, "there aren't too many players at that level eligible for India." And Baichung's team mates thought similar that a player of Chopra's quality would surely help the national team in a tough competition like the AFC Asian Cup. And through the Football Players Association of India they tried to get something going, but it did not happen.

This was simply because the AIFF thought otherwise. AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das had said earlier this week, "One player cannot win a football match, it's a team game and Michael Chopra is no Lionel Messi, though he plays in England."

AIFF president Praful Patel had also said that getting Michael Chopra an Indian passport wasn't a top priority for the All India Football Federation. If not getting the best "Player of Indian Origin" a passport to represent India at the continental level, what would be?

I fear this is a lost chance for India to integrate a top talent into our national team set-up. Surely Chopra is no Messi but for Indian football he could surely be an asset in the years to come. Now lets hope after the Asian Cup is played the AIFF realise their mistake, they then take a more pro-active and welcoming approach to integrate Chopra. Then Team India will have to regroup after the Asian Cup with numerous senior international players set to retire and Chopra has stated that he is willing to play for India even if not getting a passport quick enough to play in the Asian Cup.