Sunil Chhetri included in India’s 28-man squad for World Cup Qualifiers in Qatar

Veteran Indian striker Sunil Chhetri has been named in India’s 28-man squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers in Qatar.

India are scheduled to play Qatar, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in order to complete their campaign in the World Cup Qualifiers. All of these matches will be held in Qatar because of the adverse situation of the COVID-19 pandemic now.

The squad left for Doha on Wednesday evening. A preparatory camp has also been arranged for the Indian camp inside a bio bubble in Doha before their first match against Qatar on June 3.

India’s World Cup 2022 qualification chances are already gone as they have just three points from five matches so far. However, they still have a lot to play for as a third-place finish in their group will give them direct entry into the final stages of the AFC Asian Cup. If they aren’t able to do so, they will need to go through a playoff to get that chance.

There have been some major changes in the squad as compared to the one that played in March. All of Goalkeeper Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, defenders Ashutosh Mehta, Mandar Rao Dessai, Mashoor Shereef, midfielders Jeakson Singh, Raynier Fernandes, Halicharan Narzary and forward Hitesh Sharma have been kept out of the squad by head coach Igor Stimac.

However, experienced players like Rahul Bheke, Subhashish Bose, Brandon Fernandes and Pronay Halder are still in the squad along with Chelsea.

India will lock horns with Qatar, who are the Asian Champions, on June 3. That will be followed by matches against Bangladesh and Afghanistan on June 7 and June 15 respectively. All matches will be played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

Squad 

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Dheeraj Singh.

Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Narender Gehlot, Chinglensana Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Adil Khan, Akash Mishra, Subhashish Bose.

Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Liston Colaco, Rowllin Borges, Glan Martins, Anirudh Thapa, Pronoy Halder, Suresh Singh, Lalengmawia Ralte, Abdul Sahal, Yasir Mohammad, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan.

Forwards: Ishan Pandita, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh.