Wolves Captain Danny Batth Reveals Frustration in Search For International Football with India
Wolves captain Danny Batth, a defender of Indian descent, possesses the desire to play on the international stage, with India being the nation that he would 'like' to represent.
The 26-year-old, who's father is Indian, is also eligible to play for England, but he's found no luck in his quest for international football with the south-Asian set-up. The ordeal has understandably lead to Batth's frustration, despite meeting with India's manager Stephen Constantine at an event in aid of children's charity YUWA in India recently.
Batth, speaking to Sky Sports, divulged the defining drawbacks in relation to his international set-back:
"My dad was born in India and came to England when he was 12 years old. As a product of that, I am half-Indian, so obviously it opens up the opportunity to seek an opportunity to play for the national team.
"It's something I would like to have the option of doing. I think it's the only country in the world where they don't like players from different countries coming back to play and represent them.
"I think it is [a shame] because obviously it's a great nation. There is a lot of representation [people of Indian origin] in England as well, and I'm sure they would love nothing more than seeing someone born in England playing for the national team."
Batth is one of only a handful of players within the English divisions with Indian roots, the other most notable professional being ex-Newcastle United striker Michael Chopra, who's father is also Indian.
However the Wanderers skipper understands that Chopra's situation was indeed a little different to his own predicament, stating:
"I've had to do a fair bit of digging because I wasn't too sure what the situation was and also why there were no Indian players playing in Europe,
"But it turns out you have to be a resident in India for two years to play for the national team, which obviously would make it very difficult in my circumstances.
"And to register for a passport, you have to be living in the country for a couple of years, that's a brick wall straight away. Then obviously - having an Indian passport and trying to play for a club in England - as I am currently at Wolves, that wouldn't work either because of the FIFA ranking rules and stuff like that."
