In the brief six-year history of the Indian Super League (ISL), the competition has managed to put India’s name on the world map by recording some of best attendance figures across all football leagues around the globe.
The purpose of introducing ISL was to help promote the growth of Indian players, who are often less technically and tactically sound than their overseas counterparts.
Since the league’s inception in 2013, it has helped produce a larger pool of players eligible for selection to the national team, thereby, helping in the development of Indian football.
Moreover, one of the major highlights of ISL has been the platform that it provides to Indian forwards to rub shoulders with likes of Stiven Mendoza, Ferran Corominas, Marcelinho, Iain Hume and more recently, players such as Roy Krishna and Nerijus Valskis, who dominated the scoring charts in the most recent edition of the tournament.
That being said, no Indian player has ever won the Golden Boot in the brief history of the league, and apart from Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua, no native player can find a place in the top 15 goalscorers’ list throughout the six editions of the ISL.
Therefore, we decided to chalk down a list of top 10 Indian goalscorers of all time in the Indian Super League.
#10 Udanta Singh, 7 goals (Bengaluru FC)
Finding his place in the top 10 is pacy Indian winger Udanta Singh, who has been a consistent feature for Bengaluru FC, having a tally of seven goals in the ISL. Udanta is also a regular with the Indian national team, having earned 27 caps at international level.
#9 Mohammed Rafi, 8 goals (Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC)
At number nine on this list is Mohammed Rafi, who has eight strikes to his name, across his stints with the two Indian Super League outfits, Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC. The veteran forward has also played for ATK, back in 2014 on loan from Mumbai FC, but failed to open his account for the club.
#8 Seiminlen Doungel, 8 goals (NorthEast United, Kerala Blasters and FC Goa)
A product of East Bengal’s youth academy, Seiminlen Doungel has scored eight goals across his three ISL teams, namely – NorthEast United, Kerala Blasters and FC Goa.
The 26-year-old is renowned for his blistering pace and trickery, and is a versatile player, having the ability to play as a wide forward or as an out-and-out winger.
#7 Balwant Singh, 9 goals (Chennaiyin FC, Mumbai City FC and ATK)
Balwant Singh, one of the more renowned names among Indian strikers, has nine goals to his name, having played for Chennaiyin FC, Mumbai City FC and ATK. The veteran centre-forward recently joined East Bengal on a free transfer, having helped ATK win the latest edition of the ISL.
#6 Robin Singh, 10 goals (Delhi Dynamos, FC Goa, FC Pune City, ATK and Hyderabad FC)
A product of the Tata Football Academy, Robin Singh made his foray into the Indian Super League with Delhi Dynamos in 2015 and since then, he’s played for four more franchises in India’s top division, with the latest of them being, Hyderabad FC.
The Noida-born player has 10 ISL goals to his name. After a brief stint with Real Kashmir FC in the I-league, Robin is a free-agent in the current scheme of things.
#5 C.K. Vineeth, 13 goals (Kerala Blasters, Chennaiyin FC and Jamshedpur FC)
The son of a farmer, C.K. Vineeth ranks fifth on the list of all-time Indian goalscorers in the ISL, having found the back of the net for all of his three clubs, Kerala Blasters, Chennaiyin FC and Jamshedpur FC.
Ahead of the next season, Vineeth, who has 13 ISL goals to his name, has followed Balwant by joining East Bengal on a free-transfer.
#4 Jackichand Singh, 13 goals (FC Pune City, Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City FC and FC Goa)
Tied in fourth place on this illustrious list with C.K. Vineeth, having scored 13 goals each, Jackichand Singh has been a mainstay in FC Goa’s recent success. Before that, he had brief stints with FC Pune City, Kerala Blasters and Mumbai City FC.
A diminutive winger, who is renowned for his impressive footwork, the 28-year-old has joined Jamshedpur FC on a free transfer ahead of next season.
#3 Lallianzuala Chhangte, 15 goals (Delhi Dynamos and Chennaiyin FC)
Often hailed as Indian’s next break-out star, Lallianzuala Chhangte began his playing career at now-defunct DSK Shivajians’ youth academy, before joining NorthEast United in 2016.
He failed to make much of an impact there but soon, Delhi Dynamos came calling. It was with Delhi that he announced himself to the world. Chhangte later joined Chennaiyin FC and has a total of 15 ISL goals to his name.
#2 Jeje Lalpekhlua, 24 goals (Chennaiyin FC)
The second one-club man on this list, along with Udanta Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua has spent a major part of his career with Chennaiyin FC, scoring 15 goals in the ISL, thereby helping the club lift the Indian Super League title twice.
Jeje has also been a regular for India at the international level, having amassed 56 caps for the country, and scoring 23 goals in the process.
#1 Sunil Chhetri, 39 goals (Mumbai City FC & Bengaluru FC)
Captain, leader, legend, Sunil Chhetri has been the face of Indian football since taking over the baton from Baichung Bhutia and he continues to be the marquee player for both India and his club side Bengaluru FC.
The veteran striker has a total of 39 goals in the ISL, and needless say that he’s been the most impressive Indian goalscorer in the league by a country mile.
All stats courtesy: Transfermarkt