The second edition of the Indian Super League is back this October to make the entire nation go ‘Let’s Football’ all over again and the build up to this year’s edition looks promising as ever.

With most clubs making big announcements regarding their marquee coaches and players, it’s time to turn our attention to the Indian heroes as of now as we prepare for the first ever ISL player’s Draft and Auction.

Guidelines

ISL Auction: The ISL Auction will be an open Auction with 10 national team players who could not be part of the inaugural listed as potential buys. All of these players have a minimum base price, and the bidding process will commence from the given base price.

All players that remain unsold at the end of the Auction will be transferred to the Player’s Draft.

ISL Draft: The draft this time will be similar to draft last time with 114 players listed in the draft, out of which around 40 players will have a team to play in the second edition of the ISL.

There will be no auction in this round and teams will just nominate the player they want at a fixed base price for all 114 players.

ED Picks

1.     Auction

Sunil Chhetri

The poster boy of Indian Football as of now, Sunil Chhetri is one of the best forwards the Indian national team has ever seen.

Vastly experienced and an intelligent footballer, Chhetri is capable of both producing and scoring goals. He also has two international stints under his belt, which will be added benefit. With the highest base price in the auction, and rightly so, we wouldn’t be surprised if the clubs vying for his services go a long way in the bidding prices.

Karanjit Singh

Second on the list with a base price of 60 lakh is Salgaocar goalkeeper Karanjit Singh. With 16 caps for India, and 54 appearances for the Goan outfit, Singh could be one of the buys of the tournament. A great shot stopper coupled with good distribution from the back make him an ideal buy for most teams which do not have their goalkeeping situation sorted as of now with no established names in their ranks.

Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata could be favorites to land Singh with no goalkeeper in their squad as of now.

Robin Singh

At 6ft 1 inch, Robin Singh stands tall in both his game and stature. The lad from Noida has over the past few years established himself in the Indian team starting 11 alongside Sunil Chettri. The striker, who can play the target man role extremely effectively with his built and aerial ability, can be lethal weapon for any team. Still young at the age of 24, irrespective of what team Singh signs for it will be interesting to see how this Bangalore FC striker plays in the ISL.

Jackichand Singh

This is one relatively unknown player we think may take the league by surprise this year. The pacy winger who can play either flank will provide a deadly attacking threat with his pace and dribbling skills, especially with teams that play through the wings and like to put crosses in the box. At a base price 20, Jackichand will be an effective addition to any team.

2.     Draft

Here’s a list of players we think the 8 teams must be looking at as potential additions to the squad.

• C K Vineeth (ST/Winger)
• Calvin Lobo (MF)
• Lalchhuna Mawia (LB)
• Steven Dias (MF)

With everything all lined up, the ISL Draft and Auction promises to be an interesting affair on this 10^th of July.