Sunil Chhetri named AIFF Player of the Year for sixth time
New Delhi, July 9: Talismanic Indian captain Sunil Chhetri was Tuesday named as the AIFF Men's Footballer of the Year for a record-extending sixth time.
The 34-year-old striker, who has been in peak form in the last couple of years, has earlier won the honour in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017. He currently plays for Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League.
Chhetri is currently the second highest international goal scorers among active players with 70 strikes to his name, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (149). He has gone past Lionel Messi (68), who is third in the list, during the 2019 Intercontinental Cup opener against Tajikistan.
Chhetri is the most capped player of the country with 109 matches, ahead of former captain Bhaichung Bhutia (107).
"The fact that this was voted by the Hero I-League and Hero ISL coaches makes it all the more special. I am grateful to my club members, coaches, fellow players, the national team staff, and the fans for their support, love, and affection," Chhetri said.
On being reminded about winning the award for the sixth time, he added: "I never play for Awards. But yeah, it feels nice when your hard work gets recognised. This is an added motivation to do better."
India midfielder Abdul Samad was named the AIFF Emerging Men's Player of the Year.
Ace India international Ashalata Devi was named the AIFF Women's Footballer of the Year 2018-19, while Dangmei Grace was adjudged the AIFF Emerging Women's Footballer of the Year 2018-19.
Best Grassroots Development Programme award will be given to Jammu and Kashmir Football Association while R Venkatesh of Tamil Nadu won the award for the best referee.
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KKR land Green for record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore; Shaw, Sarfaraz go unsold
Abu Dhabi (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders splurged a record-breaking Rs 25.20 to land top Australian all-rounder Cameron Green even as Indian stars Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan went unsold in the Indian Premier League players' auction here on Tuesday.
Green surpassed compatriot Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction. This was after Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were involved in an intense bidding war for him before the latter emerged winner.
KKR also went after Venkatesh Iyer before pulling out of the race against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who fetched the services of the India all-rounder for Rs 7 crore.
As far as Green is concerned, his salary for the season would still be Rs 18 crore (USD 1.9 million) as the rest of the amount will go towards the BCCI's player development programme as per the rules of the auction for foreign players.
Green, who previously turned up for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has so far played 29 matches in the IPL to aggregate 707 runs and take 16 wickets.
Shaw, however, went unsold despite his fine run of form in the domestic circuit lately, and so was the case with Sarfaraz, who smashed a 22-ball 73 in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match for Mumbai on Tuesday.
Big-hitting South African batter David Miller was bought by Delhi Capitals for his base price of Rs 2 crore, but New Zealand swashbuckler Devon Conway, whose base price was also Rs 2 crore, went unsold in the auction.
Seasoned South African opener Quinton de Kock returned to his old base Mumbai Indians for a base price of Rs 1 crore.
A total of 359 players -- 246 Indians and 113 overseas players -- are part of the mini auction pool with the 10 franchises bidding to fill up a maximum of 77 slots, including 31 reserved for foreign players.
