Nihal Sudeesh (born 18 June 2001) 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 winger 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 life and career

Nihal was born in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

on 18 June 2001. Nihal joined the reserve squad of the

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

in 2019 and represented the side in the 2019–20 I-League 2nd Division season before leaving the club for the

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 ...

side

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

in 2021. After quitting his job at

, Nihal signed again for the Blasters' B team, where his performance in the 2022 Reliance Foundation Development League and in the 2022 Next Gen Cup earned him a promotion to the senior squad of Kerala Blasters.

Kerala Blasters FC

2022–23: Debut season

In 2022, Nihal was included in the Kerala Blasters squad for the

2022–23 Indian Super League The 2022–23 Indian Super League was the ninth season of the Indian Super League, the first season as the only top division, and the 27th season of top-tier Indian football league system, Indian football. It commenced on 7 October 2022 and conc ...

season. He was one among the seven native players for the club for the season. Nihal made his debut for the Blasters senior team in the Indian Super League on 23 October 2022 against

Odisha FC Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

by coming in as a substitute for

Hormipam Ruivah Hormipam Ruivah (born 25 January 2001) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters. Club career Youth and early career Hormipam hails from Somdal Village in the Ukhrul District ...

in the 64th minute, but the Blasters lost the match 2–1 at full-time. He remained as an unused substitute for two months, and made his second appearance on 26 December in the returning fixture against Odisha as a substitute for

Rahul KP Rahul Kannoly Praveen (born 16 March 2000) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Odisha. Club career Youth and early career Born in Thrissur, Kerala, Rahul played for the Thrissur district un ...

in the 70th minute, which the Blasters won 1–0. Nihal was acclaimed by the media and fans for his short-performance against Odisha.

2023–24: Contract extension

After an impressive debut season, Nihal signed a thee-year contract extension with the Blasters till 2026. He 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 The 2023 Durand Cup (also known as IndianOil Durand Cup due to sponsorship ties with the Indian Oil Corporation) was the 132nd edition of Durand Cup, the oldest association football, football tournament in Asia, and the second edition since it ...

, which they lost by the score of 3–4 at full-time. On 12 April 2024, Nihal scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win against

Hyderabad FC Hyderabad Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Hyderabad, Telangana. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Founded on 27 August 2019, the club began their first professional ...

, after coming as a substitute in the 63rd minute.

2024–present: Loan to Punjab FC

On 9 July 2024, the Blasters announced that Nihal has been loaned to Punjab for a season long loan deal. On his second game for the club on 20 September, Nihal scored his first goal of the season against

, helping Punjab in a 2–1 win. He was then named as the player of the match.

Career statistics

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudeesh, Nihal Living people 2001 births Indian men's footballers 21st-century Indian sportsmen Footballers from Kerala Sportspeople from Kochi Men's association football wingers Indian Super League players Kerala Blasters FC players Kerala Blasters FC Reserves and Academy players Punjab FC players