With Sunil Chhetri left out of India’s CAFA Nations Cup assignment, head coach Khalid Jamil on Monday said that there is no better player for the country than the former captain. Jamil also said that Chhetri will be in the national team as long as he is available.
A week ago, when Jamil was asked about Chhetri’s exclusion, he had said that he wasn’t there because CAFA was just a preparatory tournament for the crucial Asian Cup qualifiers. He made it clear that Chhetri will walk into the national team against Singapore on October 9 and October 14.
“There is no better quality player in India than him. So, when he is available, why not? We need his experience. He is a legend and he has given so much to the nation for so many years,” Jamil told PTI from Bengaluru where he addressed his first press conference as India head coach.
Chhetri’s comeback
Chhetri had announced his international retirement after the match against Kuwait in Kolkata last year. But he made a comeback to the Blue Tigers in the match against Maldives after the then head coach Manolo Marquez had requested him to help the team in the Asian Cup qualifiers third round. He scored in his comeback match but since then, he has played three more matches but couldn’t inspire India in them.
They drew Bangladesh 0-0 and lost to Hong Kong 0-1 in the Asian Cup qualifiers, leaving the country in a difficult position to qualify for the continental showpiece in 2027. In between India lost 0-2 to Thailand in an international friendly. Marquez quit after the string of poor performance from the team.
After Marquez left the post, the All India Football Federation appointed Jamil as the new head coach of the Indian team. On Monday, he also announced his first squad as a coach with India set to take on Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan at the CAFA Nations Cup.
India squad:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Hrithik Tiwar.
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Defenders: Rahul Bheke, Naorem Roshan Singh, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglensana Singh, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Muhammed Uvai.
Midfielders: Nikhil Prabhu, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Danish Farooq Bhat, Jeakson Singh, Boris Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan, Udanta Singh, Naorem Mahesh Sing.
Forwards: Irfan Yadwad, Manvir Singh (Jr.), Jithin MS, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vikram Partap Sing.
