<p>Indian talisman Sunil Chhetri was on Saturday voted as the favourite player of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup by fans as he finished ahead of Eldor Shomurodov of Uzbekistan.</p>.<p>Chhetri beat Shomurodov 51-49 in the poll after trailing in the initial stages of voting.</p>.<p>"19 days, 561,856 votes The #AsianCup2019 favourite player has been decided. Congratulations Sunil Chhetri!" the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) wrote on its Twitter handle.</p>.<p>The 35-year-old Indian captain scored twice during the group stage of the Asian Cup at the beginning of last year. Both goals came in their 4-1 drubbing of Thailand in the opening match.</p>.<p>India came close to securing a Round of 16 spot but conceded late goals in their last two matches against hosts UAE and Bahrain to bow out in the group stage.</p>.<p>The poll was conducted by AFC on its official Instagram handle.</p>.<p>With 72 goals and 115 appearances, Chhetri is India's all-time highest scorer and the most-capped player.</p>.<p>Chhteri, who was earlier named an Asian Icon by the AFC on his 34th birthday, is the second-highest international scorer among active footballers, behind Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and ahead of Argentina's Lionel Messi.</p>.<p>The Chhetri-led India is scheduled to face Qatar at home in a World Cup Qualifier on October 8, take on Bangladesh away on November 12 and then host Afghanistan on November 17.</p>
<p>Indian talisman Sunil Chhetri was on Saturday voted as the favourite player of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup by fans as he finished ahead of Eldor Shomurodov of Uzbekistan.</p>.<p>Chhetri beat Shomurodov 51-49 in the poll after trailing in the initial stages of voting.</p>.<p>"19 days, 561,856 votes The #AsianCup2019 favourite player has been decided. Congratulations Sunil Chhetri!" the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) wrote on its Twitter handle.</p>.<p>The 35-year-old Indian captain scored twice during the group stage of the Asian Cup at the beginning of last year. Both goals came in their 4-1 drubbing of Thailand in the opening match.</p>.<p>India came close to securing a Round of 16 spot but conceded late goals in their last two matches against hosts UAE and Bahrain to bow out in the group stage.</p>.<p>The poll was conducted by AFC on its official Instagram handle.</p>.<p>With 72 goals and 115 appearances, Chhetri is India's all-time highest scorer and the most-capped player.</p>.<p>Chhteri, who was earlier named an Asian Icon by the AFC on his 34th birthday, is the second-highest international scorer among active footballers, behind Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and ahead of Argentina's Lionel Messi.</p>.<p>The Chhetri-led India is scheduled to face Qatar at home in a World Cup Qualifier on October 8, take on Bangladesh away on November 12 and then host Afghanistan on November 17.</p>