Ashique Kuruniyan


Muhammad Ashique Kuruniyan is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for both Bengaluru and the Indian national team.

Club career

Early life

Born in Malappuram, Kerala, Kuruniyan was the fifth child to a father who owned a shop and a mother who was a housewife. In order to help support his family, Kuruniyan dropped out of school when he was in the eighth standard and began work in his father's sugarcane shop. When he finished his work in the evening, he would play football in the fields. He was soon selected by Vision India, a scheme started by the Kerala Football Association, and was with the academy until 2014 when he joined the academy at Pune.
In 2016, when Pune's academy was sold and converted to the FC Pune City Academy, Kuruniyan joined them. In October 2016 it was announced that Kuruniyan would join Villarreal C, the third-team of La Liga side Villarreal, on loan from Pune City. However, after training in Spain for four months, Kuruniyan returned to India in February 2017, after suffering a hamstring injury.

Pune City

In July 2017 it was confirmed that Kuruniyan had signed a professional contract with Pune City and was retained by the club for their upcoming Indian Super League campaign. He made his professional debut for the club on 10 December 2017 in their match against Jamshedpur. He came on as an 83rd-minute substitute for Emiliano Alfaro as Pune City won 1–0. He netted his first goal on 30 December, scoring the first goal in the eighth minute of a 5–0 victory against NorthEast United FC.

International career

Kuruniyan has represented India at the under-20 level.
He was called to represent the Indian national senior team in the intercontinental cup to be held in June 2018. Kuruniyan made his international debut against Chinese Taipei on 1 June 2018, when he was substituted-in in the second half. He also represented India in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in UAE.

Career statistics

Club

Notes

International

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.5 September 2018Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh1–02–02018 SAFF Championship