Around 205 players were up for auction at the 2017 Indian Super League Draft, out of which 134 were picked by the ten teams in Mumbai for the upcoming season. A total of Rs 37.33 crore were spent on the players, spending on an average Rs 27.86 lakh for every recruit.

71 players, who are now free agents, can sign with other clubs outside the draft and according to IMG-R official Andy Knee, they will have a chance to join other ISL clubs, should the clubs opt for more than 15 Indian players in the squad.

Notable exclusions included ex-India internationals Gouramangi Singh, Nallapan Mohanraj, NS Manju and Syed Rahim Nabi. Along with these names, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Darren Caldeira and Nikhil Kadam also did not manage to find a place in the draft.

Anas Edathodika was as expected, pick number one in the Draft, as Jamshedpur FC looked to sign the highly valued defender first up, with Delhi Dynamos ready to pick their former defender, in case the Tata-owned team had not picked up the Indian national team defender.

Patterns emerge in the picks

While there were teams like Delhi Dynamos and Pune City purely opting for the best players to fit into their squad under the salary cap, there were clubs where a common theme played out among a majority of the picks.

FC Goa and NorthEast United showed a strong affinity for local flavour by bringing in several players from the respective regions/states. The Gaurs picked eight players belonging to the home state, including the highly-rated Brandon Fernandes.

Speaking later, FC Goa official Akshay Tandon also said that the franchise wanted to sign Romeo Fernandes but the winger was picked before Goa had their chance.

NorthEast United opted for even more players of local origin, picking nine of them from the ‘Eight Sisters’ region including Hali Charan Narzary, ex-ATK captain Lalrindika Ralte and former Bengaluru player Seminlen Doungel.

Albert Roca’s Bengaluru FC went all out to retain their former players and managed to do successfully in five cases. Goalkeepers Lalthuammawia Ralte and Calvin Abhishek, midfielders Harmanjot Khabra, Lenny Rodrigues and Alwyn George will remain at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

Chennaiyin FC tried to do the same with their players, retaining four of them. Abhishek Bachchan, co-owner of the southern franchise made it clear that the aim was to keep as many of Marco Materazzi’s squad from the previous season.

Then there were other individuals who left their marks on the teams they were part of. Ashley Westwood, newly appointed Technical Director of ATK sparked a mini-Bengaluru FC reunion at the Sanjeev-Goenka owned franchise with the buys of Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Keegan Pereira, Shankar Sampingiraj as well as saving Robin Singh’s blushes by buying the 65-lakh valued striker in round 9, at which point he was the highest valued player left to be drafted.

At the Kerala Blasters, assistant manager Thangboi Singto brought his experience of working with North-eastern players to the fore as Lalruatthara, Milan Singh, Jackichand Singh, Siam Hanghal, Lalthakima, Pritam Kumar Singh, Samuel Shadap and Loken Meitei were signed by the Blasters.

Instant Trade Option fails to excite

One aspect of the Draft that seemed to have no impact on proceedings was the Instant Trade option. Debuted in the second season of the ISL, the feature gave teams a choice to trade with the franchise that had just picked a player.

The rules were fairly simple. Teams had to call for a trade 15 seconds after another team had picked a player and they received three minutes to reach an agreement with the team with the draft pick.

Unfortunately, more than 10 trades were called for but none of them were successful as teams refused to budge on their choices or were not enamoured by the trades on offer. An official of one of the teams involved in the negotiations explained why trades were not likely to succeed, “Teams and coaches have picked a player keeping in mind that they want him and not to trade him. In such a case, why would they change their decision?”

Pune, Bengaluru, ATK and Jamshedpur in good nick

Pune City seem to have the best draft picks of the lot. A total spend of 3.63 crores, the lowest of any team, and the acquisitions of Vishal Kaith, Adil Khan, Kean Lewis, Nim Dorjee Tamang and Isaac Vanmalsawma mean that the Stallions have a strong Indian backbone. Except the 29-year old Khan, the other picks all point to a planning for the future.

Bengaluru also managed to retain five of their players and for a club that prides itself on its continuity, their foreign acquisitions and retentions mean that the JSW-owned franchise will start its season in the AFC Cup, and they will be among the favourites for ISL-4.

ATK and Jamshedpur also landed some strong acquisitions, as Anas Edathodika, Subrata Paul, Mehtab Hossain, Souvik Chakraborty, Bikash Jairu and Jerry Mawihmingthanga put the Tata-owned franchise in good shape while Westwood’s ex-charges combined with the likes of Debjit Majumdar, Prabir Das, Jayesh Rane, Ashutosh Mehta and Rupert Nongrum mean that the Kolkata club are among the mix for what would be a third ISL title.

Mumbai City and Chennaiyin FC’s recruits left a lot to be desired and quality foreign recruits may be needed to shore up what look like under-par squads on paper. The high-profile retentions of Amrinder Singh and Jeje Lalpekhlua will aid their cause but some hap-hazard picks have left a lot to be desired before the season commences.

The deadline for the completion of foreigner signings and the registration of the squad has been provisionally declared as the 12th of September. Teams can register a minimum of 22 players and a maximum of 25, with the number of foreigners to be fixed between seven and eight.

The ISL has got official recognition from the Asian Football Confederation this year, making the winners eligible for a spot in the AFC Cup but IMG-R have confirmed that they will not impose a mandatory rule to recruit a player from an AFC-affiliated country. Licensing conditions set by the AIFF must also be met but with “different clubs at different stages of evolution”, those conditions will not be mandatory this season.

An interesting Sunday draft officially kicked off the fourth edition of the Indian Super League and with the addition of two teams, India’s best talents were picked by ISL clubs. With 25 of the 29 members from the most recent national team set-up picked on Sunday, the four-month league must now live up to its hype.