In the last three-four years, Roy Krishna has been the best number nine – Sunil Chhetri

Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri has showered praise on Roy Krishna, tipping him as the best number nine in the last few years in the Hero Indian Super League. The Blues have signed the services of the Fijian striker and Chhetri reckons Krishna can do wonders for the club if he is made comfortable in the club.

Meanwhile, Krishna joined hands with ATK (former name) in the 2019-20 season and he was able to straight have a positive impact. The forward scored a total of 15 goals in that season, which was the highest of the edition, and thus played a key role in the club’s third ISL title.

Subsequently, he scored 14 goals in the next season for ATK Mohun Bagan and played a key role in guiding them to the final. In the 2021-22 season, the Fijian striker scored seven goals and provided four assists in 16 matches despite his troubles with injury. Thus, he played another important role in helping his team finish among the top four teams.

Krishna has been a consistent performer in the ISL and he will look to replicate the same success for Bengaluru FC.

Meanwhile, the Blues haven’t been at their best in the last two seasons but Sunil Chhetri believes players like Roy Krishna and Sandesh Jhingan can make a lot of difference.

“The last two years have hurt. But with guys like Roy, Javi and Sandesh coming in, we have got everything that we wanted. We can’t complain anymore,” Chhetri said in a pre-season media interaction.

“In the last three or four years, Roy has been the best number nine alongside Coro (Ferran Corominas of FC Goa). All of us players have to do everything to make him comfortable. If Roy is made comfortable, we know what he can produce. Goal scoring comes naturally to him,” Chhetri stated.

Bengaluru FC finished in sixth place with eight wins in 20 matches with a tally of 29 points in the previous season and thus could not qualify for the semifinal stages. Chhetri admitted they couldn’t come up with a collective effort in the previous season.

“We weren’t in sync. We have to know what the coach wants, so that we can move in that direction. That’s the best way to get results. We missed out on this last year. But it’s not just the mistake of one person. The performances we gave as individuals – the way I missed goals, the way we defended – did not help,” Chhetri said.

“As a team, what hurt was that we started missing that camaraderie inside the dressing room. This was never the case at this club. It really bothered me,” the 38-year-old added.

Bengaluru FC will begin their Durand Cup campaign against Jamshedpur FC on Wednesday.