Kansas City Wizards happy to see Sunil Chhetri called into India squad

Kansas City Wizards announced Friday that attacker Sunil Chhetri has been permitted to join the Indian National Team through the 2011 Asian Cup, in cooperation with the All India Football Federation.

Kansas City signed Chhetri from Dempo SC in March, making him the first Indian to join an MLS team and creating considerable media attention around his move abroad. His most recent appearance for the Wizards came in Sunday’s 2-1 upset of Manchester United, coming on in the 69th minute and recording two shots on goal in his 21 minutes of action.

"I'm excited to be joining the National Team,” Chhetri said, “but I'll miss Kansas City. Everything was falling into place here, including the big win we just had against Manchester United."

Chhetri scored in his debut as a substitute in an exhibition against the University of Tulsa and followed that performance with a hat trick in his next outing against the University of Evansville. He made his first team debut in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in match on April 13th when he was named to the starting lineup in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids.

"This will allow Sunil to play full-time on a regular basis. This will be not only good for him, but good for us in the future, and we always want to help our players develop as much as we possibly can. We look forward to Sunil coming back to Kansas City."