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#1 Rahul Bheke (Bengaluru FC)
No player's omission has led to more outrage among the Indian football fans than that of Rahul Bheke, Bengaluru FC's versatile defender.
Constantine has time and again snubbed Bheke despite the 28-year-old's envious record for the Blues in their title-winning season.
Thinking from Constantine's perspective, the Englishman probably had his core set for the Asian Cup and did not want to alter his main philosophy right before an important tournament.
However, by not even calling him up to the national camp, Constantine gave Bheke no chance of proving that he can be a player that can fit into the Englishman's style. Forget making the national camp, Constantine deemed Bheke unfit to even make the top-50 players of the country.
Bheke, who can play at any position in the defence, could have filled in for the injured Anas Edathodika at the central defence in India's final group game against Bahrain.
When India were set to play a friendly against Jordan in November 2018, Bheke had earned the Player of the Month award. He played all but one match for Bengaluru FC, scoring 3 goals and making one assist.
It's the defensive record that could have easily earned Bheke a place in the national team. His record of 43 tackles, 26 interceptions, 96 clearances and 31 blocks was far ahead of any of his rivals. The real game-changer is the set-piece threat that Bheke poses.
But we don't know on what basis Constantine denied him a call-up.
Constant rejections could hurt anyone but Bheke took them in his stride. Two months after the Asian Cup, Bheke scored a winner that helped Bengaluru FC win the ISL. Right after the final, India skipper Sunil Chhetri commented that it was a shame Bheke had still not played for India and he hoped that the decision makers were listening.
Let's leave it to Stimac to reward this unsung hero with a national team cap.
