Sunil Chhetri 'doesn't get love from Bangladeshi players'

With the semifinals of the SAFF Championship pitting India against Lebanon and Bangladesh against Kuwait, India captain Sunil Chhetri said he would prefer two South Asian teams meet in the final.

"Honestly we are thinking of our game. We definitely want to be in the final. If you ask me for a choice, then I'm gonna want Bangladesh in the final, purely because of a SAFF country," the veteran striker said at a pre-semifinal press conference in Bengaluru.

"I respect Kuwait and Lebanon a lot as they are top teams but if I have a choice, we qualify and then Bangladesh should qualify only because we are the SAFF nations and this is the SAFF Cup and there is no other reason. If two SAFF teams reach the final, then it is good. I am pretty sure that Bangladesh and India have a huge task to do when they face Kuwait and Lebanon," the 38-year-old added.

When asked to deliver a motivational message for the Bangladeshi players by a Bangladeshi journalist ahead of the Kuwait match, the successful Indian captain said in Bengali, "Dada, do you know how Bangladesh players treat me when I play against them?"

Then he continued in English: "Do you have any idea? So my message to them would not make any difference because when we meet, it is almost like a war and I don't get any love from the Bangladeshi players on the pitch. But as you ask, I wish them very best and play all the games well but not against us," said Chhetri.