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Vishal Kaith IN, Dheeraj Singh OUT: Igor Stimac names 23-man India squad for SAFF Championship
The Blue Tigers will be leaving for Maldives on September 28...
Indian national team coach Igor Stimac has named a 23-man squad for the upcoming SAFF Championship in October 2021.
The Croatian coach has replaced Dheeraj Singh with Vishal Kaith whereas, Pronay Halder, Akash Mishra and Bipin Singh have failed to make the cut from the previous squad that flew to Nepal to play two friendlies earlier in September. However, Bengaluru FC's Udanta Singh has been recalled. The players and the support staff will reach Bengaluru on Monday and will fly out to the Maldives the next day. Meanwhile, Stimac and other members of the technical staff will join the squad directly on the island nation on Tuesday.
SAFF Fixtures
| Date | Time (IST) | Match |
|---|---|---|
| October 4 | 4:00 pm | Bangladesh vs India |
| October 7 | 4:00 pm | India vs Sri Lanka |
| October 10 | 9:00 pm | Nepal vs India |
| October 13 | 9:00 pm | India vs Maldives |
“We are all looking forward to the SAFF Championship as the leading football country in this part of Asia. These 4-5 games are extremely crucial for us as we won’t have any other chance of getting together before the start of 3rd round AFC Asian Cup qualifiers next season. So these matches should help us to improve a few points in our game," stated coach Stimac.
Indian national team: Squad and team news
The 25-man India squad for the SAFF Championship:
Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Vishal Kaith, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Mandar Rao Dessai, Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Seriton Fernandes.
Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Lalengmawia, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Jeakson Singh, Glan Martins, Suresh Singh, Liston Colaco, Yasir Mohammad.
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Sunil Chhetri, Farukh Choudhary
