MUMBAI: Former Newcastle United striker Michael Chopra was picked by the Kerala Blasters, co-owned by cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar, in an international draft for the upcoming Indian Super League on Thursday.

A total of 49 foreign players were drafted during the session for the eight-franchise league, which is slated to run from Oct 12 to Dec 20. Seven players have been directly recruited by the teams.

“When the drafts came up, the first name that caught our attention was that of Chopra,” former England goalkeeper David James, marquee player and manager of the Kerala team, told reporters.

Chopra, who is of Indian origin and has also played for a host of other Premier League clubs, was the only English player in the draft, which was held at a Mumbai hotel overlooking the Arabian Sea.

Chopra will get $58,185 per season, according to organisers.

Other prominent picks included French defender Bernard Mendy ($80,000) and former Manchester United midfielder Bojan Djordjic of Sweden ($58,185) by the Chennai franchise, while Spanish midfielder Jofre Mateu ($58,185) went to Atletico de Kolkata.

Djordjic but only made two appearances for the Premier League club. He went on to enjoy a successful career, winning league titles with Red Star Belgrade in Serbia, Videoton in Hungary, and AIK in Sweden.

Ex-Paris Saint-Germain star Mendy’s fee was the highest forked out by franchises and he joins other marquee names such as former Juventus striker David Trezeguet, former Arsenal winger Freddie Ljungberg and Spaniards Luis Garcia and Joan Capdevila in the first season of the football league.

Organisers also expect other retired stars like Manchester United’s Dwight Yorke, Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and Argentina striker Hernan Crespo to play in the ISL which hopes to popularise football in the cricket-obsessed country.

The top four sides in the ISL will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be played over two legs, with the winners advancing to a one-off final.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2014