With the final round of AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers in mind, India would be going up against Bahrain in an international friendly on March 23, Wednesday. The match would be played at the Sheikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium and is set to begin at 9:30 pm IST (Indian Standard Time). A day ago, head coach Igor Stimac named a 25-member squad for this friendly as well for another against Belarus, which would be played on March 26. A number of players, who had good performances in the ISL, were rewarded with being called up to the national side for these two friendlies. ISL Stars Prabhsukhan Gill, VP Suhair Picked As India Name 25-Member Squad for Friendlies Against Bahrain and Belarus

A total of seven players earned maiden call-ups to the team, the likes of which included Prabhsukhan Gill, who also won the Golden Glove for his performance between the sticks for eventual runners-up Kerala Blasters. Kashmir Danish Farooq also was called up to the national team for the first time. Other new faces in the squad include Hormipam Ruivah, Roshan Singh, Anwar Ali, VP Suhair, and Aniket Yadav.

Earlier, it was reported that talismanic skipper Sunil Chhetri was ruled out of these two friendly matches due to an injury. While he rests on the sidelines, recuperating for the crucial international fixtures, his absence would provide more opportunities to the likes of young forwards like Liston Colaco and Manvir Singh, who had good seasons for ATK Mohun Bagan in the recently-concluded ISL.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2022 01:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).