Early career and Indian Arrows Born in
Uttarpara,
West Bengal, Kotal began playing football at the age of four after being inspired by his uncle, who was also a footballer. He began his youth career with
Chirag United before playing for the West Bengal youth team. Kotal also played for
Wari in 2009. After spending time with the
India under-19 side, Kotal joined the
All India Football Federation's development
I-League side,
Pailan Arrows (current Indian Arrows). He played in six matches during his debut
2011–12 season for the side.
Mohun Bagan 2013–16: First goals and loan spells After
Pailan Arrows disbanded and before the
2013–14 season, Kotal signed with
Mohun Bagan. He made his debut for the club on 23 October 2013 against
Salgaocar. He came on as an 85th-minute substitute for
Aiborlang Khongjee as Mohun Bagan won 2–1. Kotal scored his first goal for the club on 7 February 2015 against
Pune. His 77th-minute goal was the only one in a 1–0 victory for Mohun Bagan. He scored his second goal of his career, and second of the season on 20 May against
Royal Wahingdoh. His goal was the first of two as Mohun Bagan won 2–0. As well as by providing two goals, Kotal also helped Mohun Bagan to win their first ever
I-League title, and thus Mohun Bagan became the first side from
Kolkata to win the title, since the inception of league in 2007. Kotal played the
2015-16 I-League campaign, and played his first match of the season against
Aizawl on 9 January 2016. Kotal scored an own goal in that match, thereby Aizawl getting an equalizer. But after the final whistle, Mohun Bagan went on to win the match 3–1. Kotal played his first continental match on 27 January, when he played the East zone preliminary round 1 match of the
2016 AFC Champions League's qualifying play-off match against
Tampines Rovers FC on 27 January 2016, which they won 3–1 after final whistle. Mohun Bagan after was redirected to
2016 AFC Cup, when they failed to make it to the
group stages of the
2016 AFC Champions League. Kotal played his first AFC Cup match against
South China AA on 9 March, where they won the match on a big margin of 0–4. Kotal later that season left the club on loan for his second spell at FC Pune City, and from there, he went on to play for Atletico de Kolkata in the 2016 ISL season.
2016–17: Return to Mohun Bagan and departure He returned to the club after winning the 2016 Indian Super League title with Atlético de Kolkata for the
2016-17 I-League season in early 2017. He scored his first goal for the club that season against
Mumbai FC on 8 March 2017, where he opened the scored sheet in the 12th minute of the match, which concluded in a 2–2 draw after the final whistle. Kotal played his last match for the club against
Chennai City FC on 30 April, which ended 2–1 with Mohun Bagan taking the three points of the match. Kotal then left the club to join Delhi Dynamos on a permanent deal.
2014–15: Loan spells at Pune City In July 2014, it was announced that Kotal would be among 84 Indian players who would be a part of the
2014 ISL Inaugural Domestic Draft, being available on loan from
Mohun Bagan. On 22 July 2014, he was drafted in the fifth round of the draft by
Pune City. He made his debut for the club in the
Indian Super League on 18 October against
Mumbai City FC. Despite starting the match, Pune City lost the match against their Maharashtra rivals 5–0. After his first season at the club, Kotal said that the experience of playing in the Indian Super League really helped him, that he played as a left back for all the games he played, and playing with the former
Inter Milan defender
Bruno Cirillo really helped him to improve his style of play.
2016: Loan to Atlético de Kolkata On 14 June 2016 it was announced that Kotal had signed with
Atlético de Kolkata (later ATK) on loan for the
2016 Indian Super League. He made his debut for the side on 2 October against
Chennaiyin FC. Kotal started in the match and played the whole 90 minutes, as Atlético de Kolkata drew 2–2. Kolkata had a breakthrough season as they went on to qualify for the
knockout stages of the season. Kolkata faced Mumbai City in the semi-finals, and progressed through to the final on an aggregate score of 3–2 from both legs. During the second leg of the semi-final against Mumbai on 13 December, Kotal was involved in a brawl that broke after the final whistle of the game. He said that he was mildly injured during the scuffle, and felt a sensation of blindness. He later confirmed that he was fine. Kolkata then went on to face
Kerala Blasters FC in the
final match of the season, which they won 4–3 on
penalty shootout, after the match drew 1–1 after the full time and extra time. Kotal thus won his maiden ISL title, and Atlético de Kolkata was emerged as the champions for the second time in their history.
Delhi Dynamos 2017–18: Debut season and impressions Kotal joined Indian Super League side
Delhi Dynamos FC (current
Odisha FC) for the
2017–18 season. He played his debut match for the club against FC Pune City on 22 November 2017, which ended in a 2–3 victory for Delhi. He scored his debut goal for the club against Kerala Blasters on 10 January 2018, where Kotal scored the equalizer in the 44th minute, but the match turned out to be a defeat, after Kerala scored two more goals, resulting in a 1–3 defeat for Delhi.
2018–19: Assuming the captaincy and departure He stayed at the club for the
2018–19 season and he was given captain's armband for his impressive 2017-18 campaign. He played his first match of the season against Pune City on 3 October 2018 in a 1–1 draw. Kotal scored his first goal of the season against his former club ATK on 17 October, which ended in a 1–2 loss for Delhi. He played his last match for Delhi Dynamos on 3 March 2019 in the return match against ATK, which again ended in a 2–1 defeat for Delhi. Kotal stayed two seasons at Delhi Dynamos, and left the club to return to
ATK in January transfer window.
Return to ATK In the late 2018, it was being reported, and later confirmed that Kotal would be returning to ATK after the
2019 AFC Asian Cup in the January transfer window. He played his remaining 2018-19 campaign with ATK, and played his first match with ATK that season against Kerala Blasters on 25 January 2019, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Kotal played his first match in a regular season after returning to ATK in the
2019–20 Indian Super League season against Kerala Blasters in the opening match of the season on 20 October, which they eventually lost 2–1 after taking the lead in the beginning of the match. He scored his debut goal for ATK and first of this season against
FC Goa on 18 January 2020, where he opened the score sheet in the 47th minute of the match, which ended 2–0 victory for ATK. ATK qualified for the
knockout stages of the 2019–20 season, and progressed through to
final after defeating
Bengaluru FC in an aggregate score of 3–2 from both legs to face Chennaiyin FC in the final. Kotal played the final that took place in
Fatorda Stadium in
Goa, where they emerged victorious after defeating Chennaiyin 3–1 in the final whistle. Kotal thus won his second ISL title, and ATK won the trophy for a record third time.
Return to Mohun Bagan 2020–21: Return season, first goals, and league runner-up After ATK merged with his former club Mohun Bagan, the new merged brand came to be called
ATK Mohun Bagan FC, who would play in the Indian Super League from the
2020–21 season. Kotal was signed by the squad, and was named one of the 5 captains for the season by the coach
Antonio Habas. He played his 62nd match for Mohun Bagan in ISL against Kerala Blasters in the opening match of the season on 20 October 2020, which they won 0–1 at
GMC Athletic Stadium, Goa. Kotal scored his 4th goal for the club against
Hyderabad FC in a 2–2 draw on 22 February 2021, where he scored in the injury time, thereby equalising the game for ATK Mohun Bagan. Mohun Bagan qualified for the Indian Super League
final in their maiden season after defeating
NorthEast United FC on an aggregate score of 3–2 in the semi-finals from both legs. Kotal played in the final against Mumbai City on 13 March, in which they were defeated by a 2–1 score after Mumbai City scored a last minute goal.
2021–22: Semi-finalist For the
2021–22 season, Kotal was appointed as one of the captains of the club. He played his first match of the season against Bengaluru FC in the
2021 AFC Cup group stage match on 18 August 2021, which they won 2–0 at full-time. He scored his only goal of the season on 6 December against
Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League, which they lost 2–1 even-though Kotal scored an 88th-minute goal. On 18 May 2022, Kotal scored his last goal for ATK Mohun Bagan in the
2022 AFC Cup group stage match against
Gokulam Kerala FC, where he equalized in the 53rd minute, but they would go on to lose the match by the score of 4–2 at the end of the game.
2022–23: League title, final season, and departure During this
season, he played all the matches for ATK Mohun Bagan in the league and won the league championship for the third time in his career after defeating Bengaluru on penalty shoot-outs.
Kerala Blasters On 14 July 2023,
Kerala Blasters announced the signing of Kotal on a 3-year deal until 2026. Mohun Bagan swapped Kotal for
Sahal Abdul Samad and reportedly paid a transfer fee of 90 lakhs to the Blasters. He made his debut for the club on 13 August 2023 in a 4–3 loss against
Gokulam Kerala in the
2023 Durand Cup. On 21 September, Pritam made his debut for the club in the Indian Super League, in the season opener against
Bengaluru FC at home, which the Blasters won 2–1. ==International career==