new delhi, Aug 25
Gearing up for his maiden assignment as the new head coach of the national football team, Khalid Jamil did not hesitate to take bold decisions, as he left out former captain Sunil Chhetri and opted for new forwards, besides recalling seasoned goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the 23-member squad for the CAFA Nations Cup to be held in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from August 29.
Jamil named the squad after the national camp held in Bengaluru, attended by 29 players. Indian Super League (ISL) champions Mohun Bagan’s Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh and Subhasish Bose missed out after the club withheld them, citing non-FIFA window obligations and AIFF “negligence.”
India have been drawn in Group B alongside Tajikistan, defending champions Iran, and Afghanistan. The Blue Tigers will open their campaign against Tajikistan on August 29 followed by matches against Iran on September 1 and Afghanistan on September 4. CAFA has six members, Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Oman and India are the two invited sides for the second edition of the tournament. In the inaugural edition in 2023, Iran defeated Uzbekistan 1-0 in the final.
The tournament will see the top two teams from each group progress to the play-offs, scheduled for September 8. The group runners-up will contest the third-place match in Dushanbe, while the winners will meet in the final in Tashkent.
Notably, the CAFA Nations Cup will be Jamil’s first opportunity to see his team in action ahead of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
“My doors are always open to every player. The CAFA Nations Cup will be an excellent opportunity for us to test our players against quality teams. Some players may not be in the squad right now because I want to try a few other less-tested ones, but rest assured, we will bring our best available squad for the Asian Cup qualifiers,” Jamil said.
India squad for CAFA Nations Cup:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Hrithik Tiwari
Defenders: Rahul Bheke, Naorem Roshan Singh, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglensana Singh, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Muhammed Uvais.
Midfielders: Nikhil Prabhu, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Danish Farooq Bhat, Jeakson Singh, Boris Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan, Udanta Singh, Naorem Mahesh Singh
Forwards: Irfan Yadwad, Manvir Singh (Jr.), Jithin MS, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vikram Partap Singh
