King’s Cup | Nishu Kumar, Jobby Justin released from the camp as Igor Stimac selects 23-man Indian team

06/02/2019

Nishu Kumar and Jobby Justin were the last two players who were released from the national camp on Saturday as the newly-appointed football coach Igor Stimac finalised the Indian team for the upcoming King’s Cup in Thailand. The Blue Tigers will take on Curacao in their opening encounter on June 5.

With Sunil Chhetri as the senior-most player in the Indian side, coach Igor Stimac has selected 23 footballers for the King’s Cup. Apart from Chhetri, the forward line will have the services of Farukh Choudhary and Manvir Singh. Meanwhile, the goal-keeping responsibilities will be with another senior member Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Amrinder Singh and Kamaljit Singh will be the other two custodians in the side alongside Sandhu.

In the defence line, the team will depend a lot on Sandesh Jhingan who lead the pack with players like Adil Khan, Rahul Bheke and Subhasish Bose. The midfield, on the other hand, looks strong with a good mix of youth and experience. Udanta Singh, Jackichand Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa, Raynier Fernandes, Pronay Halder, Vinit Rai, Sahal Abdul, Amarjit Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Michael Soosairaj will feature in the middle.

The Indian football team will travel to Thailand for the upcoming King’s Cup tournament which will begin on June 5 in Buriram, Thailand. India, under the guidance of the newly-appointed coach Stimac, will take on Curacao in their first game of the tournament on the opening day itself. After taking the charge of the team last month, the head coach had called for a national camp in Delhi with 37 players in it. However, with the release of Nishu and Justin, the coach has selected the 23-man national side that will represent India in the upcoming tournament this month.

Indian Squad

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Kamaljit Singh

Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan, Adil Khan, Subhasish Bose

Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Jackichand Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa, Raynier Fernandes, Pronay Halder, Vinit Rai, Sahal Abdul, Amarjit Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Michael Soosairaj

Forwards: Balwant Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Farukh Choudhary, Manvir Singh