India have announced their squad for the AFC Asian Cup that will be held in Qatar in Jan-Feb 2024. The biggest names missing from the squad are injury-forced: centre-back Anwar Ali and central midfielder Jeakson Singh.
Vishal Kaith's consistently good ISL performances have been recognised with a call-up and so have those of centre-back Lalchungnunga and the returning-to-national team Pritam Kotal. Defensive midfielder Deepak Tangri has been included to add more bite and physicality to the midfield.
In a boost for Igor Stimac and his coaching team, Sahal Abdul Samad, who's already missed the past month due to injury, has been deemed fit enough to be included. Central midfielder Apuia, who had been dropped from the national team due to disciplinary issues recently, has been included in the squad, like he was for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in November.
Another surprise, perhaps, came in the inclusion of Udanta Singh who had been publicly criticized by Stimac just last month for not meeting expectations.
The whole squad is comprised of players from ISL clubs, and the core remains the same that Stimac has worked with over the past couple of years.
THE FULL SQUAD
Goalkeepers
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru FC)
Amrinder Singh (Odisha FC)
Vishal Kaith (Mohun Bagan SG)
Defenders
Akash Mishra (Mumbai City FC)
Lalchungnunga (East Bengal FC)
Mehtab Singh (Mumbai City FC)
Nikhil Poojary (Hyderabad FC)
Pritam Kotal (Kerala Blasters FC)
Rahul Bheke (Mumbai City FC)
Sandesh Jhingan (FC Goa)
Subhasish Bose (Mohun Bagan SG)
Midfielders
Anirudh Thapa (Mohun Bagan SG)
Brandon Fernandes (FC Goa)
Deepak Tangri (Mohun Bagan SG)
Apuia (Mumbai City)
Liston Colaco (Mohun Bagan SG)
Naorem Mahesh Singh (East Bengal FC)
Sahal Abdul Samad (Mohun Bagan SG)
Suresh Singh Wangjam (Bengaluru FC)
Udanta Singh (FC Goa)
Forwards
Ishan Pandita (Kerala Blasters)
Lallianzuala Chhangte (Mumbai City FC)
Manvir Singh (Mohun Bagan SG)
Rahul KP (Kerala Blasters FC)
Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)
Vikram Pratap Singh (Mumbai City FC)