With his goal against Churchill Brothers at home, Lalrinzuala Lalbiaknia became the top Indian scorer in the I-League, beating Sunil Chhetri and Mohammed Rafi’s record. The youngster now has 15 goals and 3 assists in 18 matches, and the season isn’t even over yet.
So, he could set the record to hold for years to come if he can get closer to the 20-goal mark in the coming games. It’s a record that gives you a lot of food for thought if you really think about it.
What Lalrinzuala Lalbiaknia’s record means for Indian football
1️⃣5️⃣ Goals
— 90ndstoppage (@90ndstoppage) March 28, 2024
Lalrinzuala Lalbiaknia breaks the record held by Sunil Chhetri to become I-League highest Indian goal scorer in a season,Chhetri took 23 matches while Rinzuala took just 18 matches.
WHAT A PLAYER 💎🙌 pic.twitter.com/BhxSiqN4bN
The Indian national team has a disability when it comes to scoring goals, and even with Sunil Chhetri and Vikram Pratap Singh fielded up front, things didn’t turn out as expected. Players from the I-League are almost never called up, and with Lalrinzuala Lalbiaknia set to move to Jamshedpur FC next season, a lot will be depending on how he adapts to the ISL.
For starts, we could see the only other Indian striker in the Indian league if Jamshedpur put their faith in the 23-year-old. He has been nothing short of immense for Aizawl FC, and has a bright future if he can get regular minutes to develop his game further.
If he is indeed able to become a regular starter, he could finally replace Chhetri in the national team, with India’s centre-forward crisis a serious problem now.
