Subrata Paul. Subrata Paul.

Subrata Paul doesn't get surprised too often. Being India's top goalkeeper means he is always ready for a dipping longranger from a rival midfielder or a one-on-one situation against the advancing forwards.

Even though he is prepared for every eventuality on the football pitch, the reliable custodian is finding it hard to come to terms with his new-found popularity after the advent of the Indian Super League (ISL).

"Today when we travel by air or go to a shopping mall, people come up to me and say 'You play for Ranbir Kapoor's team, right?'. This is new. In Kolkata and Goa, football was always popular, but in cities like Mumbai and Chennai also people are thronging to the stadiums," the Mumbai City FC goalkeeper told Mail Today.

"Today players like Durga Boro (NorthEast United FC) and Singam Subhash Singh (Mumbai City FC) are also getting recognised. Earlier people only knew Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri. But things have changed. I am not comparing this with other tournaments, but was this possible earlier?"

The organisation of the first edition of the franchise-based tournament has also impressed the 27-year-old Paul.

"The matches are being played in the evening and are being broadcast live. This is good news for us. This was needed ahead of the 2017 U-17 World Cup. Football needed to be popularised. I hope the cocktail of upcoming U-17 World Cup and the ISL works wonders for Indian football," he said.

Paul added that the presence of quality foreigners has also proved to be a boon for Indian players.

"There is no age for learning new things. I have played for the national side for the last seven years but still there is so much to learn. Not only on the field, I often try to see marquee players like Nicolas Anelka's conduct off the field," he said.

"All this is good for Indian footballers. But I think we need to wait till the end of the first season to gauge the real success of the ISL."

