Danish Farooq Bhat

In this Indian name, the name Farooq Bhat is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Danish.

Danish Farooq Bhat

Personal information
Full name	Danish Farooq Bhat
Date of birth	(1996-05-09) 9 May 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth	Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Kerala Blasters
Number	13
Youth career
2009–2015	J&K Bank Football Club
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2016	Lonestar Kashmir	18	(0)
2016–2021	Real Kashmir	62	(10)
2021–2023	Bengaluru	27	(4)
2023–	Kerala Blasters	16	(2)
International career‡
2022	India	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:30, 24 December 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:30, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

Danish Farooq Bhat (born 9 May 1996) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.

Club career

Early career

Danish started his early football career with a local team Chinar Valley FC. ^[1] Later, Danish joined the J&K Bank Football Academy at the age of 13, where he would become the team captain eventually at his age group level teams. He would go on to win 12 local leagues and tournaments with his team prior to joining Lonestar Kashmir in 2015. He would play for Lonestar Kashmir in the 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division season, where he would help his team reach the final round of the league as his team fell short of promotion to the I-League.

Real Kashmir

In the later half of 2016, he joined Real Kashmir where he was given the number 10 shirt. With 4 strikes, Danish was the joint highest goal-scorer for Real Kashmir in the 2017–18 season. He had the most number of assists to his name during this season as his team became the champions of 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division and won promotion to the I-League. ^[2] He is one among two Kashmir-born players for Real Kashmir in the first-team squad who have played regularly in this season of I-League. ^[3]

Bengaluru

On 25 July 2021, it was announced that Danish had joined Indian Super League club Bengaluru on a two-year deal. ^[4] On August 15, he made his debut in a 1–0 2021 AFC Cup play-off round win against Maldivian club Eagles. ^[5] On 24 November, he made his ISL debut as a substitute for Jayesh Rane in a 3–1 loss against Odisha. Danish scored his first ever ISL goal in a 3–3 draw against ATK Mohun Bagan on 16 December. ^[6]

Kerala Blasters

On 31 January 2023, Danish joined Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters on a three and a half-year deal for a reported fee of ₹2.5 million. ^{[7] [8]} He made his debut for the Blasters on 3 November in a 1–0 loss against East Bengal by coming as a substitute for Jeakson Singh in the 75th minute. ^[9]

After his debut season, Danish played his first match of the 2023–24 season on 13 August 2023 against Gokulam Kerala FC in the 2023 Durand Cup tournament as a substitute for Jeakson Singh, which they lost 3–4. ^[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 21 August against Indian Air Force. He also assisted Bidyashagar's goal and helped in a 5–0 victory. ^[11] Danish scored his first league goal for the club in the league on 8 October against Mumbai City, in a 2–1 loss. ^[12]

International career

In March 2022, Danish was called up for the national squad by coach Igor Štimac ahead of India's two friendly matches against Bahrain and Belarus. ^{[13] [14]} He made his debut on 23 March against Bahrain in their 2–1 defeat.

Playing style

Danish earned the moniker of ‘Kashmiri Ronaldo' by fellow footballers and aficionados of the state, demonstrated by his dribbling skills and goal-scoring. ^[15]

Personal life

Danish was born in the Downtown neighbourhood of Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir.

Danish was inspired by his father, Farooq Ahmad, who was a professional footballer two decades before him. Ahmad represented the Jammu and Kashmir state team in Santosh Trophy and also played for Kolkata giant Mohammedan Sporting. ^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 August 2023 ^[17]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lonestar Kashmir	2015–16	I-League 2nd Division	18	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	18	0
	Total		18	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	18	0
Real Kashmir	2016–17	I-League 2nd Division	5	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	0
	2017–18		9	3	0	0	–	–	3 [lower-alpha 1]	1	12	4
	2018–19	I-League	19	2	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	–	–	0	0	20	2
	2019–20		15	2	0	0	–	–	4 [lower-alpha 3]	1	19	3
	2020–21		14	3	0	0	–	–	5	3	19	6
	Total		62	10	1	0	–	–	12	5	75	15
Bengaluru	2021–22	Indian Super League	17	3	–	–	4	0	–	–	21	3
	2022–23		10	1	–	–	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 4]	0	14	1
	Total		27	4	0	0	4	0	4	0	35	4
Kerala Blasters	2022–23	Indian Super League	6	0	1	0	–	–	–	–	7	0
	2023–24		–	–	–	–	–	–	1	0	1	0
	Total		6	0	1	0	–	–	1	0	8	0
Career total			110	14	2	0	4	0	17	5	136	19

Notes

1. Appearances in the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division final Round
2. Appearances in the 2019 Indian Super Cup
3. Appearances in the 2019 Durand Cup
4. Appearances in the 2022 Durand Cup

Honours

Real Kashmir

• I-League 2nd Division: 2017–18
• IFA Shield: 2020 ^[18]

Bengaluru

• Durand Cup: 2022

See also

• Basit Ahmed Bhat

References

1. "Real Kashmir star Danish Farooq eyes India berth". Hindustan Times. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
2. "Real Kashmir wins 2nd Division I-League title". greaterkashmir.com. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
3. "Kashmir's favourite footballer Danish Bhat hopeful of India national team chance | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
4. Mishra, Siddharth (25 July 2021). "ISL: Bengaluru FC sign Real Kashmir forward Danish Farooq". thebridge.in. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
5. "Bengaluru FC vs Club Eagles player ratings: Rane's piledriver hands the Blues a sneaky 1-0 win". Sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
6. "ISL 2021-22, Bengaluru FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan Highlights: Six-goal thriller as match finishes 3-3". Sportstar. 16 December 2021.
7. Saji, Sooraj. "Kerala Blasters pay Rs 25 Lakhs transfer fee to get Danish Farooq early". khelnow.com. Khel Now. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
8. "KERALA BLASTERS FC SIGN MIDFIELDER DANISH FAROOQ". keralablastersfc.in. Kerala Blasters Football Club. 31 January 2023.
9. Sportstar, Team (3 February 2023). "East Bengal 1-0 Kerala Blasters highlights, ISL 2022-23: Cleiton goal guides Red and Gold Brigade to win". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
10. "Kerala Blasters 3-4 Gokulam Kerala Highlights: GKFC beats KBFC to win Kerala Derby in Durand Cup 2023". Sportstar. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
11. "Durand Cup 2023: Bidyashagar hat-trick powers Kerala Blasters to 5-0 win over Indian Air Force FT". Sportstar. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
12. "ഗ്രൗണ്ടിൽ ഉന്തുംതള്ളും, ചുവപ്പുകാർഡ്; ത്രില്ലർ പോരാട്ടത്തിൽ കേരള ബ്ലാസ്റ്റേഴ്സിന് തോൽവി". ManoramaOnline (in Malayalam). Retrieved 8 October 2023.
13. "7 new faces as Stimac names final list of 25 for friendlies in Bahrain". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 21 March 2022. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
14. "Kashmir's ace footballer Danish Farooq gets national team camp call up". www.thekashmirmonitor.net. The Kashmir Monitor. 8 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
15. "This 'Kashmiri Ronaldo' trains under shadow of guns, curfew - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
16. "Danish, Hammad & Shahnawaz: The Local Heroes of Real Kashmir FC". thequint.com. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
17. Danish Farooq Bhat at Soccerway
18. "123rd IFA Shield 2020–21". kolkatafootball.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.