Indian National football team coach Khalid Jamil cleared the air around leaving legendary striker Sunil Chhetri from the CAFA Nations Cup national camp saying that it is just a preparatory tournament for the crucial Asian Cup qualifying.
“He (Chhetri) is not there in this camp because we are playing a tournament which will essentially serve as a preparation for our Asian Cup Qualifiers,” Jamil said on the second day of the national camp.
Jamil, who succeeded Manolo Marquez’s as India head coach earlier this month, on Friday named 35 probables for the upcoming CAFA Nations Cup in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Chhetri missing from the list.
“I also want to try out a few other players during this FIFA window. I had a talk with him about the same. It’s always a pleasure to have a player like him in the team, and the door is always open for him. Sunil is a legend of Indian football. I have played against him, I’ve seen him play on numerous occasions, and he is one of my favourite players. He is a role model for Indian football,” he said in a release from the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
The national camp began on Saturday featuring 22 players while the remaining 13, who were doing club duties at the ongoing Durand Cup, are likely to join in a few days.
Meanwhile, 41-year-old Chhetri retired from International football last year but called back by Manolo against Maldives in March this year.
He has played four matches since then and scored once — in the 3-0 win over Maldives. India 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 of the team.
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India is placed in the Group B of the CAFA Nations Cup and will face co-host Tajikistan on 29th August,.Iran on 1st September and Afghanistan on 4th September.
The third-place match and the final will be played on 8th September in Hisor and Tashkent (Uzbekistan), respectively.
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