Kolkata : Ashique Kuruniyan and Ryan Williams joined the Indian men’s national team camp in Bengaluru on Wednesday and took part in the evening training session ahead of the upcoming international friendlies.
Midfielder Anirudh Thapa also joined the camp later in the day, along with defender Mehtab Singh, who has been called up to the squad. Ricky Meetei Haobam, who was part of the original 26-member squad named by head coach Khalid Jamil, will not join the camp because of an injury.
Mehtab was not part of the initial squad and provides Jamil with additional cover in defence.
India began its preparatory camp in Bengaluru on September 14. The Blue Tigers will face Panama at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on September 25 before travelling to Kolkata for friendlies against Brazil on October 3 and Uruguay on October 6.
Earlier, Khalid Jamil had named 26 probables for the three historic international friendlies. Hence, he was hoping for an extra week of training before the international window officially opens on Sept 21. But on the first day of training, 10 key players were missing. As a result, he has been forced to call for an additional cover in defence after only 16 players reported for training on the first day of the camp in Bengaluru.
East Bengal are busy with ACL 2 while Mohun Bagan have CFL 2026 Super 6 game on 19th September. Bengaluru FC also stated in an online meeting between clubs and AIFF that they would be in position to release all players only after their friendly against Super League Kerala side on 16th September.
Bagan have released midfielder Apuia and Abhishek Tekcham Singh for the national camp, while defender Mehtab Singh – summoned by Jamil as additional cover on Tuesday – is expected to join within 24 hours. Anirudh Thapa is nursing an injury and will join his teammates once he recovers. Currently, the Mariners are busy in Calcutta Football League which will end on 19th September as they face Mohammedan SC.
In the past, Bagan and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) have shared bitter moments over player release, rehabilitation during national team camps outside FIFA Window.
Two other players – Sahal Abdul Samad and Manvir Singh – will be released after the Calcutta Football League (CFL) title decider on Sept 19.
