Danish Farooq Bhat (born 9 May 1996) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Danish Farooq Bhat | ||
| Date of birth | 9 May 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kerala Blasters | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2015 | J&K Bank Football Club | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | Lonestar Kashmir | 18 | (0) |
| 2016–2021 | Real Kashmir | 62 | (10) |
| 2021–2023 | Bengaluru | 27 | (4) |
| 2023– | Kerala Blasters | 32 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022 | India | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:30 5 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:30, 23 March 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editEarly career
editDanish started his early football career with a local team Chinar Valley FC.[1] Later, Danish joined the J&K Bank Football Academy at the age of 13, where he would become the team captain eventually at his age group level teams. He would go on to win 12 local leagues and tournaments with his team prior to joining Lonestar Kashmir in 2015. He would play for Lonestar Kashmir in the 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division season, where he would help his team reach the final round of the league as his team fell short of promotion to the I-League.
Real Kashmir
editIn the later half of 2016, he joined Real Kashmir where he was given the number 10 shirt. With 4 strikes, Danish was the joint highest goal-scorer for Real Kashmir in the 2017–18 season. He had the most number of assists to his name during this season as his team became the champions of 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division and won promotion to the I-League.[2] He is one among two Kashmir-born players for Real Kashmir in the first-team squad who have played regularly in this season of I-League.[3]
Bengaluru
editOn 25 July 2021, it was announced that Danish had joined Indian Super League club Bengaluru on a two-year deal.[4] On August 15, he made his debut in a 1–0 2021 AFC Cup play-off round win against Maldivian club Eagles.[5] On 24 November, he made his ISL debut as a substitute for Jayesh Rane in a 3–1 loss against Odisha. Danish scored his first ever ISL goal in a 3–3 draw against ATK Mohun Bagan on 16 December.[6]
Kerala Blasters
editOn 31 January 2023, Danish joined Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters on a three-and-a-half-year deal for a reported fee of ₹2.5 million.[7][8] He made his debut for the Blasters on 3 November in a 1–0 loss against East Bengal by coming as a substitute for Jeakson Singh in the 75th minute.[9]
After his debut season, Danish played his first match of the 2023–24 season on 13 August 2023 against Gokulam Kerala FC in the 2023 Durand Cup tournament as a substitute for Jeakson Singh, which they lost 3–4.[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 21 August against Indian Air Force. He also assisted Bidyashagar's goal and helped in a 5–0 victory.[11] Danish scored his first league goal for the club in the league on 8 October against Mumbai City, in a 2–1 loss.[12]
International career
editIn March 2022, Danish was called up for the national squad by coach Igor Štimac ahead of India's two friendly matches against Bahrain and Belarus.[13][14] He made his debut on 23 March against Bahrain in their 2–1 defeat.
Playing style
editDanish earned the moniker of ‘Kashmiri Ronaldo' by fellow footballers and aficionados of the state, demonstrated by his dribbling skills and goal-scoring.[15]
Personal life
editDanish was born in the Downtown neighbourhood of Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir.
Danish was inspired by his father, Farooq Ahmad, who was a professional footballer two decades before him. Ahmad represented the Jammu and Kashmir state team in Santosh Trophy and also played for Kolkata giant Mohammedan Sporting.[16]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 16 August 2023[17]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lonestar Kashmir | 2015–16 | I-League 2nd Division | 18 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 18 | 0 |
| Total | 18 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 18 | 0 | ||
| Real Kashmir | 2016–17 | I-League 2nd Division | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 0 |
| 2017–18 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3[a] | 1 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 2018–19 | I-League | 19 | 2 | 1[b] | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
| 2019–20 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4[c] | 1 | 19 | 3 | ||
| 2020–21 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 3 | 19 | 6 | ||
| Total | 62 | 10 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 5 | 75 | 15 | ||
| Bengaluru | 2021–22 | Indian Super League | 17 | 3 | – | – | 4 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 3 |
| 2022–23 | 10 | 1 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 14 | 1 | ||
| Total | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 4 | ||
| Kerala Blasters | 2022–23 | Indian Super League | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 7 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 110 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 136 | 19 | ||
- Notes
- ^ Appearances in the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division final Round
- ^ Appearances in the 2019 Indian Super Cup
- ^ Appearances in the 2019 Durand Cup
- ^ Appearances in the 2022 Durand Cup
Honours
editReal Kashmir
Bengaluru
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Real Kashmir star Danish Farooq eyes India berth". Hindustan Times. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "Real Kashmir wins 2nd Division I-League title". greaterkashmir.com. June 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ "Kashmir's favourite footballer Danish Bhat hopeful of India national team chance | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ Mishra, Siddharth (25 July 2021). "ISL: Bengaluru FC sign Real Kashmir forward Danish Farooq". thebridge.in. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
- ^ "Bengaluru FC vs Club Eagles player ratings: Rane's piledriver hands the Blues a sneaky 1-0 win". Sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "ISL 2021-22, Bengaluru FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan Highlights: Six-goal thriller as match finishes 3-3". Sportstar. 16 December 2021.
- ^ Saji, Sooraj. "Kerala Blasters pay Rs 25 Lakhs transfer fee to get Danish Farooq early". khelnow.com. Khel Now. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "KERALA BLASTERS FC SIGN MIDFIELDER DANISH FAROOQ". keralablastersfc.in. Kerala Blasters Football Club. 31 January 2023.
- ^ Sportstar, Team (3 February 2023). "East Bengal 1-0 Kerala Blasters highlights, ISL 2022-23: Cleiton goal guides Red and Gold Brigade to win". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ "Kerala Blasters 3-4 Gokulam Kerala Highlights: GKFC beats KBFC to win Kerala Derby in Durand Cup 2023". Sportstar. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ "Durand Cup 2023: Bidyashagar hat-trick powers Kerala Blasters to 5-0 win over Indian Air Force FT". Sportstar. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ "ഗ്രൗണ്ടിൽ ഉന്തുംതള്ളും, ചുവപ്പുകാർഡ്; ത്രില്ലർ പോരാട്ടത്തിൽ കേരള ബ്ലാസ്റ്റേഴ്സിന് തോൽവി". ManoramaOnline (in Malayalam). Retrieved 8 October 2023.
- ^ "7 new faces as Stimac names final list of 25 for friendlies in Bahrain". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 21 March 2022. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ "Kashmir's ace footballer Danish Farooq gets national team camp call up". www.thekashmirmonitor.net. The Kashmir Monitor. 8 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ "This 'Kashmiri Ronaldo' trains under shadow of guns, curfew - Times of India". The Times of India. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Danish, Hammad & Shahnawaz: The Local Heroes of Real Kashmir FC". thequint.com. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ Danish Farooq Bhat at Soccerway
- ^ "123rd IFA Shield 2020–21". kolkatafootball.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.