India, Oct. 16 -- In search of a home, they tried Kolhapur, Guwahati and Ranchi. With time running out in a season where clubs have more responsibility than they have ever had in the Indian Super League (ISL), things were getting desperate. Then, at the proverbial last minute, Pune accepted Inter Kashi.

That meant adopting as home a stadium nearly 1500km away from Varanasi, where Inter Kashi are from. One that has not hosted ISL matches for years. For Kashi's first home match, against Kerala Blasters, there were more supporters for the away team.

Since Inter Kashi were founded in 2023, they have played I-League games in Kalyani near Kolkata. 2025-26 was their first season in the ISL and Inter Kashi initially offered to play all games aw...