Jamshedpur FC's Aniket lives ISL dream after making debut

Jamshedpur: It was not long ago that a 14-year-old Aniket Jadhav was passing balls to the likes of Pritam Kotal and Lenny Rodrigues in the inaugural edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.

Six seasons later, Aniket is readying himself to face them in his first season of the ISL with Jamshedpur FC.

On Tuesday, the Kolhapur-born youngster who shot to fame after he was selected for India's 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup team, made his debut in the ISL when he started for Jamshedpur FC against Odisha FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur.

"To be honest, I was very excited to join the Jamshedpur FC team for my first ISL season. I am looking forward to the season," the 19-year-old told ISL media.

Aniket followed his development in the I-League with Indian Arrows after the U-17 World Cup.

Opening up on why he chose Jamshedpur FC, Aniket said, "When I was young, I used to follow the likes of Subrata Paul and Steven Dias (assistant coach at Jamshedpur FC). I actually used to be a ball-boy for the Indian Super League during the first two seasons in the games at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune. I spoke to five-six senior players before signing for Jamshedpur and all spoke highly of the facilities and the team culture here."

Aniket spent a good three months training at English club Blackburn Rovers during the close season, gaining invaluable experience, which he plans on putting to use in the upcoming season.

"It was a good exposure trip for me. I learnt a lot as a professional football player. There was so much knowledge to soak in from the coaches and the players at Blackburn Rovers. Surely, I would be able to put my learnings to use in this ISL," said Aniket, who was snapped up by Jamshedpur FC the previous season before being loaned out to Arrows once again.