Danish Farooq Bhat (born 9 May 1996) is an Indian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of football in India. The club was esta ...

Club career

Early career

Danish started his early football career with a local team Chinar Valley FC. 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 The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

Real Kashmir

In 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 The 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division (known as Hero 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division, for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the I-League 2nd Division, the second division Indian football league, since its establishment in 2008. The seaso ...

and won promotion to the I-League. He is one among two

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

-born players for Real Kashmir in the first-team squad who have played regularly in this season of

Bengaluru

On 25 July 2021, it was announced that Danish had joined

club

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

on a two-year deal. On August 15, he made his debut in a 1–0 2021 AFC Cup play-off round win against Maldivian club

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

. On 24 November, he made his ISL debut as a substitute for

Jayesh Rane Jayesh Dilip Rane (born 20 February 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Club career Mumbai Born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Rane joined the Mumbai youth team in 2008. During the 2012 I-League U20, Rane ended as ...

in a 3–1 loss against

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. Danish scored his first ever ISL goal in a 3–3 draw against

ATK Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

on 16 December.

Kerala Blasters

On 31 January 2023, Danish joined Indian Super League club

on a three-and-a-half-year deal for a reported fee of ₹2.5 million. He made his debut for the Blasters on 3 November in a 1–0 loss against

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

by coming as a substitute for Jeakson Singh in the 75th minute. After his debut season, Danish played his first match of the 2023–24 season on 13 August 2023 against

Gokulam Kerala FC Gokulam Kerala Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Kozhikode, Kerala. Founded in 2017, the club competes in the I-League, the second tier of the Indian football league system. They won the 2020–21 I-League title t ...

in the 2023 Durand Cup tournament as a substitute for Jeakson Singh, which they lost 3–4. He scored his first goal for the club on 21 August against

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. He also assisted Bidyashagar's goal and helped in a 5–0 victory. Danish scored his first league goal for the club in the league on 8 October against Mumbai City, in a 2–1 loss.

International career

In March 2022, Danish was called up for the national squad by coach

Igor Štimac Igor Štimac (; born 6 September 1967) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. In his playing career, Štimac had three spells with Hajduk Split and also played for Cádiz in Spain, and for Derby County and West Ham Un ...

ahead of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

's two friendly matches against

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. He made his debut on 23 March against Bahrain in their 2–1 defeat.

Playing style

Danish earned the moniker of ‘

i Ronaldo' by fellow footballers and aficionados of the state, demonstrated by his dribbling skills and goal-scoring.

Personal life

Danish was born in the

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

neighbourhood of

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

in the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

. 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.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

Honours

Real Kashmir *

I-League 2nd Division The I-League 2 is an Indian men's professional association football, football league. It is the 3rd tier of the Indian football league system, behind the Indian Super League and the I-League. It operates as a system of promotion and relegation ...

: 2017–18 *

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is a football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in the Indian state of West Bengal. The IFA came into existence in 1893, and was named after the association. The IFA Shield to ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Bengaluru *

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Danish, Farooq 1996 births Living people Indian men's footballers Footballers from Jammu and Kashmir Sportspeople from Srinagar India men's international footballers I-League players Indian Super League players 21st-century Indian sportsmen Men's association football midfielders Real Kashmir FC players Lonestar Kashmir FC players Bengaluru FC players I-League 2 players Kerala Blasters FC players