India Sports Tribune

DELHI, INDIA: Several seniors, including the legendary Sunil Chhetri and Subhasish Bose, were handed the axe by India head coach Khalid Jamil when he named his list of 23 probables for their upcoming AFC Asian Cup Qualifier match against Bangladesh. The Blue Tigers will go to Dhaka to take on their neighbours on November 18 at the National Stadium. The team will set camp in Bengaluru from Thursday, November 6, and are expected to travel on November 15.

In what is a dead rubber for the Indians, head coach Jamil chose to overlook Chhetri in the attacking department along with Bose in defence. Alongside Bose, another name missing was that of Chinglensana Singh Konsham, who did not even get the chance to prove his mettle before being discarded. In midfield, Liston Colaco has been dropped along with Apuia, with Jamil preferring the defensive midfield duo of Suresh Singh and Nikhil Prabhu.

Many others who featured for India in their squad against Singapore in October, such as Brandon Fernandes, Deepak Tangri, Sahal Abdul Samad, Farukh Choudhary, Udanta Singh and Danish Farooq Bhat were left out. Some names, including that of goalkeeper Sahil and attacker Mohammed Sanan, defied convention, with several top men between the sticks such as Gurmeet Singh, Vishal Kaith and Amrinder Singh being overlooked. Surprisingly, no player has been selected from Mohun Bagan, who are a domestic powerhouse, and the defending Indian Super League champions.

As for Sanan, he was first named in the India U-23 side travelling to Thailand for a friendly, but he has now been asked to report to the senior team’s camp instead. India are currently ranked last in Group C, with two points from four matches. They are yet to win a single game in their campaign, and have drawn two and lost two so far. Their latest source of embarrassment came against Singapore at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao in October, when they were thrashed 1-2 by their visitors. This loss ensured that the Blue Tigers would not qualify for the Asian Cup this time around.

List of probables for India’s squad for November FIFA Window:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Hrithik Tiwari, Sahil.
Defenders: Akash Mishra, Anwar Ali, Bikash Yumnam, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Muhammed Uvais, Pramveer, Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan.
Midfielders: Ashique Kuruniyan, Brison Fernandes, Lalremtluanga Fanai, Macarton Louis Nickson, Mahesh Singh Naorem, Nikhil Prabhu, Suresh Singh Wangjam.
Forwards: Irfan Yadwad, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Mohammed Sanan, Rahim Ali, Vikram Partap Singh.
Head coach: Khalid Jamil

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