India coach Khalid Jamil has left goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu out of his squad for two friendlies against the All Whites. Defender Anwar Ali is also out with a hamstring injury. PTI reported the news on Friday 6 November.
Gurpreet left out, Anwar injured
Gurpreet is a former India captain. PTI linked his omission to a poor showing in India’s 0-4 loss to Brazil.
The same report says Anwar, an East Bengal defender, has a Grade 1 hamstring injury. He could be out for more than a month. Lalengmawia Ralte (Apuia) and Mohammed Sanan have also been ruled out through injury.
Fixtures
According to the ANI report, citing the All India Football Federation, the matches are part of the November FIFA international window.
- Thursday 12 November: Go Media Stadium, Auckland.
- Sunday 15 November: One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch.
Both reports give kick-off times in Indian time only: 11:30 am and 8:30 am IST. We have not converted them to New Zealand time. Check the official match listings for local kick-off times.
Squad
- Goalkeepers: Hrithik Tiwari, Som Kumar, Vishal Kaith.
- Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Bijoy Varghese, Jay Gupta, Mehtab Singh, Pramveer, Ricky Meetei Haobam, Roshan Singh Naorem.
- Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ashique Kuruniyan, Jithin MS, Lalremtluanga Fanai, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Tomba Singh Haobam.
- Forwards: David Lalhlansanga, Edmund Lalrindika, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Muhammad Suhail, Ryan Williams.
The lists come from Asianet Newsable and ThePrint.
Players from the SAFF Championship
Three players from Naushad Moosa’s SAFF Championship squad join the New Zealand group. They are Bijoy Varghese, Muhammad Suhail and Liston Colaco. They will leave the tournament in Dhaka.
Farukh Choudhary, Noufal PN and Hmingthanmawia Ralte were released from that squad and return to Mumbai City FC. Ronney Kharbudon will not travel to Dhaka because of injury.
Travel and Jamil’s comments
The squad assembles in Bengaluru on Saturday 7 November and trains on Sunday. It then flies to Auckland that night.
Jamil described New Zealand as “a World Cup-playing nation and a strong opponent”. He said the two games would be a good test away from home.
