This is my pick for the Indian Super League 2017-18 Team of the Season.The formation considered is 4-4-2 and the coach picked for the team is Chennaiyin’s John Gregory being the coach of the champion side.Bengaluru's Albert Roca was also considered but not chosen since he could not win the trophy despite topping the league table.The team follows the ISL rule for foreign player limit and has a 5-6 (foreign-indian) mix.
Goalkeeper
Jamshedpur’s Subrata Paul is the man on the goal.He ended the season with highest save percentage (74.50%) and least goals per game(0.83) from at least 6 games.He was selected on the basis of these better statistics despite discipline being a concern with 2 yellow cards and 1 red card.Distribution competence of the goalkeepers was not comprehensible from the available stats and hence was not considered.
Centre-backs
Mumbai City's Lucian Goian and Kerala Blasters' Sandesh Jhingan are the centre-backs.While Lucian topped the tackles list and is a technically better player,Mailson Alves lost out because of the foreign player limit of 5 players despite having better statistics than Jhingan.Jhingan is top Indian centre-back on the basis of defence metrics.
Full backs
Its Kerala Blasters' Lalruathara on the left and North East United's Nirmal Chettri on the right.Both the players were chosen on the basis of being technically advanced players than their competitors.Also considered was Chennaiyin's Jerry for the left back position and Bengaluru's Rahul Bheke for the right back position.Though Jerry had 2 assists and more interceptions,Lalruathara rated better with a higher tackles and clearances per game ratio.Nirmal and Bheke was almost on par in most of the counts,Nirmal was selected on the basis of better tackles per game ratio.
Centre Midfielders
Goa player Ahmed Jahouh and Pune City's Marcelinho are the centre midfielders selected.Ahmed Jahouh is a defensive midfielder and topped the stats for the season.He was effective as a deep lying playmaker and will fit into both attacking & defensive formations.While Marcelinho’s goal conversion ratio and strike rate is not in the top five,if you add his assists then he has been instrumental in 1.13 goals per game.Further the fact that he can play as a CAM,second striker,F9 or in the wings has also been considered.
Wingers (Inverted)
Goa's Lanzarote and Bengaluru's Udanta singh are the wingers in this XI.Lanzarote was the most effective winger of the season with 13 goals and 6 assists.Udanta scored only 1 goal but had 7 assists and a better conversion ratio among indian wingers.
Forwards
Coro and Sunil Chetri are the forwards in the team.Also considered was Miku and Jeje.Miku scored 15 goals with the best conversion ratio in whole of the league but Coro had a better strike rate,the best shot accuracy in the league and a better overall game with five assists in addition to 18 goals.Also the foreign players limit came into play and hence Miku was not included.Again for Jeje,though he had better conversion ratio than Sunil,Sunil was included for better strike rate and a better overall game.