Kolkata: India head coach Igor Stimac has named a 23-man squad for the national camp in the city ahead of international friendlies against Nepal in September. The national camp is supposed to start from August 15 onwards at the Saltlake Stadium.
The last time the Blue Tigers had camped in Kolkata was 15 years ago, back in 2006 before their World Cup Qualifiers against Saudi Arabia. The players and the staff will be under secured bio-bubble and will be continuously tested keeping in mind the health parameters of the pandemic.
The camp will go on for 15 days. However, the contingent won’t be having the ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC players who have AFC Cup commitments in the Maldives.
#BlueTigers 🐯 to kick-off camp in Kolkata from August 1️⃣5️⃣ onwards 🙌
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) August 9, 2021
Read here 👉 https://t.co/5LltSGlJLj#BackTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽ #IndianFootballForwardTogether 💪 pic.twitter.com/vyN106oMi9
The squad sans ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC players include:
Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Vishal Kaith
Defenders: Ashish Rai, Seriton Fernandes, Adil Khan, Chinglensana Singh, Narender, Rahul Bheke, Akash Mishra, Mandar Rao Dessai.
Midfielders: Lalengmawia, Glan Martins, Jeakson Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Sahal Abdul Samad, Halicharan Narzary, Bipin Singh, Yasir Mohammed.
Forwards: Rahul KP, Farukh Choudhary, Ishan Pandita, Rahim Ali.
“I am very happy to meet with my players again and get ready for the upcoming challenges forward together,” Stimac said in a statement. “We wish both the Indian clubs good luck and hope they do well in the AFC Cup,” he added.
“We need to check on the rest of the players who will kick-off the camp with us next week, and choose the best ones until the rest of the players join us,” added Stimac. The players who will be joining the national camp after their AFC Cup stints are:
Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Ashutosh Mehta, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose.
Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Pronay Halder, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Ashqiue Kuruniyan.
Forwards: Liston Colaco and Manvir Singh, along with skipper Sunil Chettri.
