The 2020-2021 season of the Indian Super League (ISL) will see two major changes in rules as the ISL is focused on giving more playing chance and a bigger spotlight to young Indian players and domestic starlets.

The new rule will have all clubs to have and include two developmental players in their squad with players born on or after January 1, 2000, and the players will be included in the matchday squad.

Sumit Rathi was one of the very few young stars who managed to break into the first team and show his qualities with ATK.

Some others include Leon Augustine, Mobashir Rahman, and Sandip Mandi, all of whom benefited from the system, and as such, the ISL has decided to maximize the opportunity that comes with the system for the benefit of India youngsters.

Meanwhile, the entire squad will still have 35 members, albeit there must be a minimum of 20 domestic players while the squads must have at most seven foreigners and at least five of them with one being Asian.

Furthermore, there were changes in the appointment of head coaches in the ISL as head coaches appointed must have at least an AFC Pro License holder or equivalent, or be in the process of obtaining the license, according to Khelnow.

The new season will also see a new team come through in the mold of ATK-Mohun Bagan, which was formed with the merger of I-League Champions Mohun Bagan and ATK, who won the ISL last season.

Meanwhile, the 3+1 foreign players policy will not come into effect in the ISL until the 2021-2022 season, but the I-League will adopt it from the 2020-2021 season. The restart of the new seasons in both leagues is still being expected as the majority of European leagues are now back.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu