India football team head coach Igor Stimac has released six players from the team’s preparatory national camp for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers. The list consists of defenders Salam Ranjan Singh, Anwar Ali (Jr.) and Jerry Lalrinzuala, forwards Farukh Choudhary and Jobby Justin, and midfielder Pronay Halder.
To recall, Stimac named 34-man probables list earlier this month to take part in the national camp being held in Goa. With the exclusions taken into account, Stimac has narrowed down the list to 28.
The Blue Tigers have been drawn in Group E for the Qualifiers, alongside World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar, Oman, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. India’s first encounter will be against Oman on September 5, 2019, followed by matches against Qatar on September 10, Bangladesh on October 15 and Afghanistan on November 14. The reverse legs will begin from November 19.
Halder’s exclusion, in particular, comes as a surprise considering the 26-year-old has been a regular fixture in the national team for several years now.
Here’s the current 28-member squad list:
GOALKEEPERS: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Kamaljit Singh, Vishal Kaith
DEFENDERS: Rahul Bheke, Nishu Kumar, Pritam Kotal, Anas Edathodika, Sandesh Jhingan, Narender Gahlot, Sarthak Golui, Adil Khan, Subhasish Bose, Mandar Rao Dessai
MIDFIELDERS: Nikhil Poojari, Udanta Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Raynier Fernandes, Vinit Rai, Sahal Abdul Samad, Amarjit Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Halicharan Narzary, Ashique Kuruniyan
FORWARDS: Balwant Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh
The full schedule of India’s matches:
September 5: India vs Oman
September 10: Qatar vs India
October 15: India vs Bangladesh
November 14: Afghanistan vs India
November 19: Oman vs India
March 26: India vs Qatar
June 4: Bangladesh vs India