Khalid names probables for Asian Cup qualifier; Chhetri misses out

New Delhi: Indian senior men’s national team head coach Khalid Jamil on Wednesday announced 23 probables for the upcoming FIFA International Match Window with the country’s football legend Sunil Chhetri missing out.

Chettri, who came out of retirement and made himself available for the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers campaign in March, was part of the list of 30 probables for the October FIFA International Window, which was announced last month, after sitting out India’s campaign at the CAFA Nations Cup. He is the only Indian player to record an appearance in three AFC Asian Cups.

India are scheduled to play Bangladesh at the National Stadium in Dhaka in their AFC Asian Cup 2027 Final Round Qualifiers match on November 18. The team will set camp in Bengaluru from Thursday and are set to travel to Dhaka on November 15.

Among the probables, Mohammed Sanan, who was called up to the U23 squad earlier this week, will join the senior team instead.

India’s hopes of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 have already ended as they slumped to a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Singapore last month after their previous ended in a 1-1 draw.

With the defeat, they are stuck on two points from four matches, and even if they win their remaining games, their maximum tally of eight points will not be enough for them to qualify. IANS

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