Not just a marketing gimmick: EPL's Asian wonderkid Adil Nabi proving his worth in ISL

That the English Premier League has an enormous fanbase in India is hardly a secret. With the country amounting for over 30 percent of its overseas television audience, the clubs in England are starting to take notice of the as-yet-untapped revenue potential.

In the last decade, the Indian football fan has grown accustomed to support not just the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, but even the smaller clubs like Everton and West Ham United. The Indian Super League has further bridged the gap as scores of fans have come out to watch footballers like Florent Malouda and Bernard Mendy play in person — whose exploits they enjoyed on television alone.

Eighteen months ago, when the Indian Super League entered into a strategic partnership with the Barclays Premier League, the news was met with trepidation — the Indian footballing scene has mostly been ignored by European powerhouses as opposed to South East Asian neighbours like Thailand, China and Singapore.

It took many by surprise when Delhi Dynamos FC announced Adil Nabi would arrive on a three-month loan from West Bromwich Albion. “There is a lot of interest in Premier League in India,” the 21-year-old told FirstPost in an exclusive interview ahead of Delhi Dynamos’ match against Atletico de Kolkata.

“It is surprising how easily you get recognised here,” Nabi said animatedly, recounting his experiences with West Brom fans in Mumbai. “People came with West Brom shirts, I didn’t expect that,” said Nabi, describing a meeting organised by the Indian section of the West Bromwich Albion Supporters’ Club.

Born in Birmingham, Nabi joined the West Bromwich Albion academy as an eight-year old. Rising through the ranks, Nabi was on the fringes of the first team setup when a knee injury during the 2013/14 pre-season set his career graph back by months.

A versatile attacking player, Nabi can play a multitude of positions in the forward line and his 13 goals in 22 appearances for West Brom in Barclays U-21 Premier League this past season is a testament to his technical ability.

Dubbed as the ‘Asian wonderkid’ by British media, the 2014/15 West Bromwich Young Player of the Season travelled with the first-team to Austria for pre-season earlier this year.

It was widely believed that Nabi’s move to Delhi Dynamos was a marketing ploy on part of the English club, in spite of Adrian Wright, West Brom’s marketing head vehemently insisting the decision was not ‘commercially-driven’ by any means. The rumours grew stronger when Nabi hardly saw any minutes in the first few weeks of the tournament.

“It is an awesome experience. I have grown so much as a person,” Nabi says. The forward got his first goal for the Delhi outfit when he opened the scoring against FC Pune City as Roberto Carlos’ side finally won a home fixture after three draws on the trot.

Nabi admits that working with the FIFA World Cup-winning Brazilian has been ‘memorable’ for him. “(Roberto Carlos) has won everything in football. Spending everyday with him is a learning curve. I’m young and starting my way up. One day in future, I want to achieve everything he has,” the youngster added matter-of-factly.

When asked where he sees himself in a couple of seasons, pat came the reply, “Playing football regularly week in and week out, for a top team. That’s all I am interested in — to keep playing football,” Nabi said.

Although soft-spoken, Nabi sports a cheerful grin and sounds confident every time he speaks. With his professional contract at West Bromwich Albion coming to an end next summer, Nabi conceded that the next few months are crucial for his career.

When asked how this brief stint would affect his prospects with his parent club in future, Nabi replied, “This experience will help very much. I spoke with the manager (Tony Pulis) at West Brom earlier. He said it’s a fantastic opportunity to come down here for three months. Hopefully, I can go back into the Premier League and play at West Bromwich Albion regularly.”