Williams’ inclusion a step in the right direction for the Blue Tigers

India’s 2-1 victory over Hong Kong China on Tuesday night was mighty impressive. Khalid Jamil’s boys thus were able to sign off their lacklustre campaign in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on a winning note.

But the match means much more than a consolation victory. It actually showed the way forward for the Blue Tigers.

India’s first goal, which came in just the fourth minute, was scored by Ryan Williams. He is an Australian, let’s face it. He qualified to play for India because his mother was born in India. With Williams up front, the Indian attack transformed. It became sharper, faster. And Sunil Chhetri wasn’t missed that much.

Indian football should have tried long ago to bring into the national team foreign players with Indian connection, like Williams. Before him, only Arata Izumi from Japan had represented India. That was in 2013.

A player of the calibre of Michael Chopra was desperate to play for India, and he had told this correspondent, on the eve of the inaugural ISL season in 2014, that it was his dream to play for India. “I want to contribute to Indian football,” said the man who had set the record for scoring the fastest goal in the English Premier League as a substitute.

There is no harm in strengthening a nation’s sporting team by including exceptionally talented players who may have grown up in a different country.

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Recall some of England’s cricket teams from the past. They more resembled a United Nations delegation, with men from places like South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean islands. Even now, the England team features men like Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.

So why can’t India import more talent that would help improve its dismally ranked football team? Just look at how Cape Verde, a country with a population of just half-a-million, qualified for this year’s FIFA World Cup by roping in players having dual nationalities playing in the leagues of countries such as Portugal, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Wales, USA, Turkey, the Netherlands, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The recommendation from India’s National Sports Policy 2025 is a step in the right direction: “Whenever feasible, promising and prominent Indian-origin athletes living abroad may be encouraged to come back and play for India at the international level.”

And the Blue Tigers need to play more international matches. There is enough young talent in the country to afford hope of better days. But they need exposure.

And India’s fans deserve to watch their team play. More than 22,000 fans turned up to watch India play Hong Kong at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. They loved every moment of it. The atmosphere was electric inside the stadium, a happy sight for an international football match in India.

Maybe it is time to have a tournament like the Nehru Gold Cup again.