FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers: Sunil Chhetri Returns to Indian Squad After COVID-19 Recovery
Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri is set to make a comeback in the national team as head coach Igor Stimac named a 28-member squad for the three upcoming matches in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers. Chhetri had missed India's last two international friendlies.
Following his recovery from COVID-19, Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri is set to make a comeback in the national team as head coach Igor Stimac named a 28-member squad for the three upcoming matches in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers. Chhetri had missed India's last two international friendlies against Oman and UAE back in March. Igor Stimac Expresses His Desire to Include Overseas Citizens in Indian Football Team.
All the players including support staff have tested negative for COVID-19 in the last 48 hours, required to travel to Qatar. Before they take on the hosts on June 3, India would have a preparatory camp in a bio-bubble in Doha. The Blue Tigers would then take on Bangladesh on June 7 and take on Afghanistan on June 15.
Stimac stressed that the team would engage in "intense" sessions ahead of the June qualifiers although stating that the situation isn't quite "ideal" ahead of the qualifying games in June.
“It’s not an ideal situation as we move ahead to the Qualifiers in June. Due to the pandemic, our National Camp which was slated to begin in Kolkata at the beginning of May had to get cancelled. The pandemic also robbed us of a friendly match in Dubai,” Stimac said.
See Full 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.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2021 04:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).