Hibs hero amongst stars with uncertain futures as foreign league remains suspended in escalating crisis
There are a number of former Scottish football stars who have been left in the dark.
A Hibs hero and another ex Easter Road star are amongst those to be left with uncertain futures amid an escalating crisis abroad.
Players from Indian Super League clubs have been left in a state of flux after it was announced last month that the 2025-26 season was to be put on hold, and there has been no return date pencilled in. Initially, it was a delay to pre season, but the crisis has since escalated. Bengaluru, Chennaiyin FC and Odisha all but shut down amid going concerns or announced they wouldn’t be paying all of their staff as the situation unfolded.
It stems from a dispute between All India Football Federation (AIFF), Indian football’s equivalent to the SFA, and Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL), who take charge of the ISL, over how its structure and distribution of the league’s commercial revenue will take shape in future. For now, hundreds are in the dark, including ex Hibs and Nottingham Forest man Jason Cummings plus former Easter Road striker Jamie MacLaren.
Former Hibs stars impacted by Indian Super League crisis
Cummings won the Scottish Cup with Hibs in 2016 and netted 71 times in 149 games before joining Nottingham Forest in 2017, moving to India two years ago from Australia’s Central Coast Mariners. McLaren spent between 2018-19 on loan at Hibs and has been a teammate of Cummings since 2024, with other ex Scottish football stars over in India including Connor Shields, Carl McHugh, Tom Aldred and Greg Stewart.
The situation is scheduled to be heard again at the Supreme Court on Thursday 28th after another deferral last week. According to the Athletic, there are a range of doomsday options on the table, including the cancelation of this season and even the collapse of the ISL itself.
Shields was asked about the situation by the Daily Record and the report states “Former Hibs star Jason Cummings is also in a similar boat” to the ex Motherwell forward “as he is still contracted to ISL side Mohun Bagan.” The attacker said: “My contract was up at Chennaiyin The plan was obviously to go back to India because I'd played there for a couple of years.
How Indian Super League shutdown is impacting players
“I’d done well out there and I wanted to try and get to a new club. I had a few options with some of the bigger clubs in the ISL which I was happy to progress with the clubs involved. Then when there was the current issue over the league the clubs pulled back, as you would expect.
“They don’t want to hand out contracts if the league isn’t going to be running, but from a player’s point of view it is a bit of a nightmare. I had other opportunities here and overseas which I have let go because I thought it would be nailed on that I would be going back to India but that isn’t the case…so far. It has been a nightmare, if I am being honest.
“The league normally starts over the next few weeks but a lot of clubs are just shutting their operations down. Some teams are struggling and if they don’t get an answer soon then they might shut down altogether. I don't know if they'll have an answer that day, but hopefully they’ll be able to give some sort of update on what's going on.”