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Indian men's national team head coach Igor Stimac on Monday announced the final 25-member squad list for the upcoming international friendlies against Belarus and Bahrain. While the friendly against Belarus is scheduled for March 23, the one against Bahrain will be held on March 26.
Seven players have received their maiden call-ups for the senior national team. They include Prabhshukhan Gill, Hormipam Ruivah, Anwar Ali, Roshan Singh, VP Suhair, Danish Farooq, and Aniket Yadav. Most of them impressed in the recently concluded season of the Indian Super League.
Stimac had earlier announced a list of 38 probable players who were training in Pune from March 10. The final squad is now expected to fly to Bahrain on Monday.
“We are playing Bahrain and Belarus, and they are better-ranked sides than us," Stimac had said earlier. "But whatever the rankings are, you need to do it on the pitch. Bahrain will show us where we stand. We will give chances to some young players who have played well in the ISL this season to see how much we can use them for the qualifiers in June."
The Blue Tigers have their final round of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifying matches, which will be held in Kolkata from June 8 onwards. The international friendlies are part of the team's preparations for the qualifiers. India have been clubbed in Group D along with Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia.
Indian national team's squad list for the international friendlies
Let's take a look at the players who have made the cut for the matches against Bahrain and Belarus:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Prabhsukhan Gill.
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Seriton Fernandes, Rahul Bheke, Hormipam Ruivah, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Chinglensana Singh, Subhasish Bose, Akash Mishra, Roshan Singh.
Midfielders: Bipin Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Pronay Halder, Jeakson Singh, Brandon Fernandes, VP Suhair, Danish Farooq, Yasir Mohammad, Aniket Jadhav.
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco, Rahim Ali.
