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Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan were among the top profile players retained in the final 23-man squad which will represent India at the 2019 Asian Cup.
Coach Stephen Constantine cut the squad size from 28 to 23 ahead of India's friendly against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Dec 27.
Quite expectedly, the five players left out were midfielder Lallianzuala Chhangte, forwards Manvir Singh and Farukh Choudhary, defender Lalruatthara and goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharja. Vishal Kaith is the third-choice goalkeeper ahead of the experienced Arindam. Kaith isn't the first-choice goalkeeper for club FC Pune City as well.
Choudhary, who has found the back of the net occasionally for Jamshedpur FC, was dropped for his teammate Sumeet Passi, whose presence in the team has always come into question. Jeje Lalpekhlua, who has not registered a goal or assist for Chennaiyin FC this season, retains his place up front.
Defender Salam Ranjan Singh is the only player from the I-League to feature in the final squad. Salam Ranjan has made just two appearances for East Bengal this season.
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A lot will ride on the experienced Sunil Chhetri to help India make progress from Group A in the AFC Asian Cup. They are pooled alongside hosts UAE, Bahrain and Thailand.
Their first match is against Thailand on January 6 in Abu Dhabi.
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India was the first team to reach UAE for the tournament, landing in Abu Dhabi 17 days before their first game. They will play Oman and another local club behind closed doors to prepare for the tournament.
“The facilities have been superb and it has been going on according to the plan so far. We have done our homework as well,” Constantine insisted.
India's 23-man Squad for Asian Cup:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru), Amrinder Singh (Mumbai City), Vishal Kaith (FC Pune City)
Defenders: Pritam Kotal (ATK), Sarthak Golui (FC Pune City), Sandesh Jhingan (Kerala Blasters), Anas Edathodika (Kerala Blasters), Salam Ranjan Singh (East Bengal), Subhasish Bose (Mumbai City), Narayan Das (Delhi Dynamos)
Midfielders: Udanta Singh (Bengaluru FC), Rowllin Borges (NorthEast United), Anirudh Thapa (Chennaiyin FC), Vinit Rai (Delhi Dynamos), Halicharan Narzary (Kerala Blasters), Ashique Kuruniyan (FC Pune City), Germanpreet Singh (Chennaiyin FC), Jackichand Singh (FC Goa), Pronay Halder (ATK)
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC), Sumeet Passi (Jamshedpur FC), Balwant Singh (ATK)
