CHENNAI (India): Chennaiyin FC has extended the contract of goalkeeper Karanjit Singh until 2020-21 season, the club said on Sunday.
The 34-year-old is set for a sixth consecutive campaign after having won the Indian Super League twice with the club in 2015 and 2017-18 respectively.
Having donned the dual role of goalkeeper-cum-goalkeeping coach last season, Karanjit will continue in a playing capacity in the upcoming campaign as new head coach Csaba László is expected to bring in a goalkeeping coach as part of his backroom staff.
“Chennaiyin FC is my home. I didn’t have to think twice before taking the decision to continue with my adopted family and represent our loving fans and the city of Chennai for one more season,” said Karanjit. “I would like to thank CFC for continuing to have faith in me.”
Karanjit is CFC’s sixth-highest appearance-maker with 62 caps in all competitions so far.
“We will continue to benefit from his experience and expertise. He has been a big part of Chennaiyin’s success,” said László.
Karanjit’s performances for Chennaiyin stood out especially in CFC’s 2017-18 title winning campaign with seven clean sheets in 20 games, the joint-highest that season.
He also made two remarkable penalty saves in games against Jamshedpur FC and Kerala Blasters FC that season, which proved instrumental in CFC’s eventual title triumph.
The following year, Karanjit came into his own with stellar displays in the Super Cup and AFC Cup matches, registering seven clean sheets in nine games over a two-month period in March and April.
His contribution was massive in Chennaiyin’s charge to the Super Cup final. Karanjit also captained CFC for the first time, in the 2-2 draw against NorthEast United in Guwahati last season.
