Legendary footballer P.K. Banerjee on Monday lamented that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is yet to invite him to watch the India-Bangladesh World Cup qualifier at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Excitement for India's group E clash is at an all-time high especially after they secured a historic draw against Asian champions Qatar in their away fixture last month.
This is for the first time after eight years India will play at the iconic Salt Lake Stadium as all the tickets have been sold out well in advance.
ALSO READ
- Football: Syria hammer Blue Tigers 3-0 to lift Intercontinental Cup
- Intercontinental Cup: No Sandesh Jhinghan among probables
- FC Goa's Manolo Marquez named Indian men's football team head coach
- New Indian football coach: Five former players whom AIFF may consider to succeed Igor Stimac
- Indian football team parts ways with head coach Igor Stimac
The octogenarian Banerjee, who stays in the close proximity to the stadium, is also thrilled but rued that he's yet to get an invitation.
"I'm really excited to see the match. If they invite, I would like to go and watch the full match. But till now, I've not got any invitation. I hope they invite me tomorrow," the 83-year-old told PTI from his Salt Lake residence.
Banerjee said Bangladesh may have been lowly ranked but they would give India a good fight.
"India team has improved a lot in the recent past... But it won't be an easy match. The visitors are expected to put up a fight but ultimately India will win," the 1962 Asian Games winner said.
India last played in Kolkata on November 16, 2011, in a friendly match against Malaysia when they won 3-2 with Sunil Chhetri setting up the win with a double strike.
Since then, the gigantic stadium has gone through a facelift as it hosted the Under-17 World Cup summit clash in 2017.