2023–24 Rajasthan United FC season explained

Club:	Rajasthan United FC
Season:	2023–24
Owner:	R.U.F.C. Sports Private Limited
Chrtitle:	Chairman
Chairman:	Krishan Kumar Tak
Manager:	Pushpender Kundu
Stadium:	Vidyadhar Nagar Stadium
League:	I-League
League Result:	11th
Cup1:	Durand Cup
Cup1 Result:	Group stage
Cup2:	Federation Cup
Cup2 Result:	Group stage
League Topscorer:	Richardson Denzell (16)
Season Topscorer:	Richardson Denzell (19)
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Prevseason:	2022–23
Nextseason:	2024–25

The 2023–24 season was the sixth season of Rajasthan United and the club's third consecutive season in the second tier of Indian football. In addition to the domestic league, Rajasthan United competed in this season's editions of the Durand Cup and Federation Cup. The season covered the period from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024.

Review

Background

See also: 2022–23 Rajasthan United FC season.

First team

First-team coaching staff

Position	Name	Nationality	Year appointed	Last club/team	References
Manager	Pushpender Kundu		2022	Rajasthan United (as assistant coach)	^[1]
Assistant Coach	Prashant J Singh		2022	Thane City (CEO)	^[2]
Goalkeeping Coach	Joel Prabhakar Raj		2022	Hyderabad FC Reserves (as goalkeeping coach)

First-team squad

Notes:

• Players and squad numbers last updated on 10 August 2023.
• Appearances and goals last updated on 21 August 2023, including all competitions for senior teams.
• Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
• Player^* – Player who joined the club permanently or on loan during the season.
• Player^† – Player who departed the club permanently or on loan during the season.

	Player		Position(s) (Footedness)	Date of birth (Age)	Signed		Transfer fee		Goals
					In	From
Goalkeepers
1	Sachin Jha^*		GK (R)	2000 3, df=yes	2023	Sudeva Delhi	Free transfer	3	0
12	Anant Shah^*		GK (R)	2007 10, df=yes	2023	Rajasthan United Academy	Free transfer	0	0
42	Gaurav Kumar Singh^*		GK (R)	1994 9, df=yes	2023	Jaipur United	Free transfer	0	0
Defenders
2	Naresh Singh^*		RB (R)	1998 4, df=yes	2023	TRAU	Free transfer	3	0
3	Suraj Negi^*		LB (L)	1996 1, df=yes	2023	Mumbai Kenkre	Free transfer	3	0
4	Banpynkhrawnam Nongkhlaw		CB (L)	1997 9, df=yes	2023	Mumbai Kenkre	Free transfer	2	0
5	Amritpal Singh		CB (R)	2001 1, df=yes	2023	Hyderabad	Free transfer	10	1
19	Sairuat Kima		CB (R)	1997 11, df=yes	2023	Mohammedan	Free transfer	3	0
21	Gautam Virwani^*		CB / LB (L)	2001 5, df=yes	2023	Jagat Singh Palahi	Free transfer	1	0
33	Sanit Dhadwal^*			2001 11, df=yes	2023	HOPS FC	Free transfer	0	0
50	Matthew Dunga		CB (R)	1994 11, df=yes	2023	Accra Great Olympics	Free transfer	2	0
93	Hardik Bhatt (captain)		RB (R)	1997 4, df=yes	2021	Bengaluru United	Free transfer	20	0
–	Lalbiakzuala		LB (L)	2000 5, df=yes	2023	Aizawl	Free transfer	0	0
–	Mohit Singh Verito^*		RB (R)	2000 8, df=yes	2023	Olímpic de Xàtiva	Free transfer	0	0
Midfielders
6	Gou Kuki		DM / CM (R)	2000 10, df=yes	2023	Sudeva Delhi	Free transfer	0	0
8	Zoma Vanlalzahawhma		CM / AM (R)	2000 12, df=yes	2022	Sudeva Delhi	Free transfer	11	0
10	Ragav Gupta		CM (L)	1999 1, df=yes	2022	Real Kashmir	Free transfer	23	0
13	Jacob John Kattookaren^*		CM (R)	1999 11, df=yes	2023	SC Bengaluru	Free transfer	2	0
16	Jirjar Terang^*		CM / DM (R)	2000 4, df=yes	2023	Downtown Heroes	Free transfer	0	0
18	Surag Chhetri^*		CM / AM (R)	2000 4, df=yes	2023	Oil India	Free transfer	2	0
20	Lalremruata HP^*		CM / AM (R)	2002 3, df=yes	2023	Goa	Free transfer	1	0
24	Yash Tripathi		RM / AM (R)	2001 1, df=yes	2022	Neerja Modi FA	Free transfer	3	0
88	Lalhunmawia Chhakchhuak^*		DM (R)	2005 5, df=yes	2023	Chanmari	Free transfer	3	0
Attackers
9	Amit Godara^*		ST (R)	2001 8, df=yes	2023	Jaipur United	Free transfer	0	0
11	William Neihsial		RW / AM (L)	1998 9, df=yes	2022	Sudeva Delhi	Free transfer	28	1
17	Lalchungnunga Chhangte^*		LW (R)	2001 1, df=yes	2023	Hyderabad	Loan transfer	3	0
22	Richardson Denzell^*		ST (R)	2004 11, df=yes	2023	Asekem FC	Free transfer	3	1
26	Malsawmzuala Tlangte^*		LW (R)		2023	SYS FC	Free transfer	1	0
–	Pravitto Raju		RW (R)	1997 4, df=yes	2023	Mumbai Kenkre	Free transfer	0	0
Out on loan
29	Lalremsanga Fanai^†		RW (R)	2001 9, df=yes	2022	Aizawl	Free transfer	23	2

New contracts and transfers

New contracts

Date				Player
27 June 2023	9	FW		Amit Godara	^[3]
15 July 2023		FW		Imran Mani	^[4]

Transfers in

Date				Player	Transferred from	Fee
8 June 2023	4	DF				Free transfer	^[5]
9 June 2023	5	DF				Free transfer	^[6]
16 June 2023	6	MF				Free transfer	^[7]
21 June 2023	17	MF		Lalchungnunga Chhangte		Loan transfer	^[8]
22 June 2023	18	MF		Surag Chhetri		Free transfer	^[9]
24 June 2023	20	MF		Lalremruata HP		Free transfer	^[10]
26 June 2023	42	GK		Gaurav Chandel	Jaipur United	Free transfer	^[11]
28 June 2023	88	MF		Lalhunmawia Chhakchhuak		Free transfer	^[12]
29 June 2023		MF				Free transfer	^[13]
2 July 2023		DF				Free transfer	^[14]
6 July 2023		MF		Zothanpuia		Free transfer	^[15]
8 July 2023	3	DF		Suraj Negi		Free transfer	^[16]
12 July 2023		DF		Mohit Singh Verito		Free transfer	^[17]
16 July 2023	21	DF		Gautam Virwani	Jagat Singh Palahi	Free transfer	^[18]
17 July 2023	19	DF				Free transfer	^[19]
18 July 2023	16	MF		Jirjar Terang		Free transfer	^[20]
20 July 2023	13	MF		Jacob John Kattookaren	SC Bengaluru	Free transfer	^[21]
22 July 2023	33	DF		Sanit Dhadwal	HOPS FC	Free transfer	^[22]
24 July 2023	26	FW		Malsawmzuala Tlangte	SYS FC	Free transfer	^[23]
30 July 2023	1	GK		Sachin Jha		Free transfer	^[24]
30 July 2023	22	FW		Richardson Denzell	Asekem FC	Free transfer	^[25]
10 August 2023	50	DF				Free transfer	^[26]

Transfers out

Date				Player	Transferred to	Fee
7 June 2023	67	DF			Talant	Free transfer	^[27]
7 June 2023	7	MF				Free transfer
7 June 2023	9	MF		Otabek Zokirov		Free transfer
7 June 2023	8	MF				Free transfer
1 July 2023	6	MF				Free transfer	^[28]
20 July 2023	23	DF		Melroy Assisi		Undisclosed	^[29]
25 July 2023	1	GK		Vishal Joon		Free transfer	^[30]
13 August 2023	18	MF			SC Bengaluru	Free transfer
14 August 2023	17	DF		Jagdeep Singh		Free transfer	^[31]

Loans out

Competitions

Overall record

Competitions

I-League

See main article: 2023–24 I-League.

Matches

Note: I-League announced the fixtures for the 2023–24 season on 6th October 2023.^[33]

Durand Cup

See main article: 2023 Durand Cup.

Matches

The fixtures were announced on 22 July 2023. Rajasthan United was drawn in Group F for the 132nd edition of the Durand Cup.^[34]

Indian Super Cup

See main article: 2024 Indian Super Cup. Rajasthan entered the competition in the play-off round. Inter Kashi defeated Rajasthan United in the qualification round by 5–0 on 8th January,^[35] the fixtures were announced on 18 December 2023.

Statistics

Keys

No.	Squad number	Pos.	Position
Player^*	Player who joined the club permanently or on loan during the season
Player^†	Player who departed the club permanently or on loan during the season

Appearances

Includes all competitions for senior teams.

2023–24 season							Club total
		Player	I-League			Total
1	GK	Sachin Jha^*	0	0	3	3	3
2	DF	Naresh Singh^*	0	0	1+2	1+2	3
3	DF	Suraj Negi^*	0	0	3	3	3
4	DF	Banpynkhrawnam Nongkhlaw^*	0	0	2	2	2
5	DF	Amritpal Singh^*	0	0	0+1	0+1	10
6	MF	Gou Kuki	0	0	0	0	0
8	MF	Zoma Vanlalzahawhma	0	0	3	3	11
9	FW	Amit Godara^*	0	0	0	0	0
10	MF	Ragav Gupta	0	0	2+1	2+1	23
11	FW	William Neihsial	0	0	3	3	28
12	GK	Anant Shah^*	0	0	0	0	0
13	MF	Jacob John Kattookaren^*	0	0	0+2	0+2	2
16	MF	Jirjar Terang^*	0	0	0	0	0
17	FW	Lalchungnunga Chhangte^*	0	0	3	3	3
18	MF	Surag Chettri^*	0	0	1+1	1+1	2
19	DF	Sairuat Kima^*	0	0	3	3	3
20	MF	Lalremruata HP^*	0	0	0+1	0+1	1
21	DF	Gautam Virwani^*	0	0	0+1	0+1	1
22	FW	Richardson Denzell^*	0	0	3	3	3
24	MF	Yash Tripathi	0	0	0+1	0+1	3
26	FW	Malsawmzuala Tlangte	0	0	0+1	0+1	1
33	DF	Sanit Dhadwal^*	0	0	0	0	0
42	GK	Gaurav Kumar Singh^*	0	0	0	0	0
50	DF	Matthew Dunga^*	0	0	1+1	1+1	2
88	MF	Lalhunmawia Chhakchhuak^*	0	0	3	3	3
93	DF	Hardik Bhatt	0	0	2	2	20

Goals

Includes all competitions for senior teams. The list is sorted by squad number when season-total goals are equal. Players with no goals are not included in the list.

2023–24 season								Club total
			Player	I-League			Total
1	11	FW	William Neihsial	0	0	1	1	1
	22	FW	Richardson Denzell	0	0	1	1	1
Own goal(s)				0	0	0	0	—
Total				0	0	2	2	—

Assists

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total assists are equal. Players with no assists are not included in the list.

			Player	I-League			Total
1	19	DF	Sairuat Kima	0	0	1	1
	22	FW	Richardson Denzell	0	0	1	1
Total				0	0	2	2

Clean sheets

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hero I-League to be a different proposition, says Rajasthan United Head Coach Pushpender Kundu . 5 November 2022 . i-league.org . 13 November 2022.
2. Web site: Welcome Peejay Singh as our new assistant coach for the senior team . 12 October 2022 . @RajasthanUnited . 13 November 2022.
3. Web site: Thrilled to announce that Amit Godara will stay with us till 2026 . 27 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
4. Web site: Proud to have our local lad shining in our club's colors for more years . 15 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 18 July 2023.
5. Web site: We are thrilled to announce the arrival of our newest defensive rock, NAM . 8 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 12 June 2023.
6. Web site: We are thrilled to announce that Amritpal has signed a long term deal until 2026 . 9 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 12 June 2023.
7. Web site: Signed and Sealed 2026 . 16 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
8. Web site: Lalnunchunga Chhangte has joined us on a season long loan deal from Hyderabad FC . 21 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
9. Web site: SURAG 2026 . 22 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
10. Web site: Signed and Sealed 2025 . 24 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
11. Web site: Proud to announce that Gaurav will stay with us till 2026 . 26 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
12. Web site: Welcome to the Family, Lahuna! . 28 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
13. Web site: Midfield maestro locked in till 2025 . 29 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
14. Web site: Thrilled to announce that B-Tea will stay with us till 2025 . 2 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 2 July 2023.
15. Web site: Elated to announce that Zothanpuia will stay with us till 2026 . 6 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 6 July 2023.
16. Web site: Suraj commits his future to RUFC until 2025 . 8 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 9 July 2023.
17. Web site: Thrilled to announce that Mohit Verito will stay with us till 2026 . 12 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 13 July 2023.
18. Web site: We are thrilled to announce the arrival of our newest defensive prodigy, Gautam Virwani! . 16 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 18 July 2023.
19. Web site: of our Fort . 17 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 20 July 2023.
20. Web site: Welcome to the Family, Jijar . 18 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 20 July 2023.
21. Web site: Welcome aboard, Jacob John! . 20 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 20 July 2023.
22. Web site: We are thrilled to announce the signing of the talented side-back Sanit! . 22 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 24 July 2023.
23. Web site: Rising Star, Sawma Tlangte embarks on a new journey as he joins RUFC! . 24 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 31 July 2023.
24. Web site: We are thrilled to announce that Sachin Jha has joined us for 3 years . 30 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 31 July 2023.
25. Web site: Ghanaian forward, Denzell joins us for the Durand Cup, ready to showcase his skills on the field! . 30 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 31 July 2023.
26. Web site: We bolster defense with Ghanaian centre back Matthew Dunga joining the squad for the Durand Cup! . 10 August 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 11 August 2023.
27. Web site: Thank You Aider, Otabek, Atai, Bektur for your services . 7 June 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
28. Web site: Lalliansanga Renthlei Bids Farewell to Rajasthan United . 1 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 1 July 2023.
29. Web site: Melroy Assisi Bids Farewell to Rajasthan United . 20 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 24 July 2023.
30. Web site: Thank you for all the #Pink outings, Vishal! . 25 July 2023 . @RajasthanUnited . 31 July 2023.
31. Web site: Presenting the latest #DeccanWarrior to don the orange and green - Jagdeep Singh . 14 August 2023 . @sreenidideccan . 16 August 2023.
32. Web site: Sairuat Kima moves to Rajasthan United and Remsanga heads to Mohammedan Sporting on loan . 6 July 2023 . Marcus Mergulhao . 6 July 2023.
33. https://i-league.org/aiff-announces-fixtures-for-i-league-iwl/feed/
34. Web site: Introducing the Group F teams for this season's epic showdown! . 17 July 2023 . Durand Cup . 23 July 2023.
35. https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/indian-football/kalinga-super-cup-group-stage-draw-teams-format-schedule-indian-super-league-i-league/article67650441.ece