India head coach Igor Stimac has opted for a combination of youth and experience while announcing a squad of 25 for the Hero Intercontinental Cup, where India opens its campaign against Tajikistan here on Sunday.
The other teams in the tournament are Syria and DPR Korea.
The four sides will play a round robin format before the best two clash for the title on July 19.
Looking to fine-tune the side after India’s campaign in the Kings Cup in Thailand last month, the Croatian recalled Anas Edathodika from retirement before the preparatory camp in Mumbai.
Stimac seemed to be keen on team stability with the inclusion of a good number of seniors.
Defending champion India will be looking to reclaim its position in the top-100 in the FIFA rankings, which Stimac feels is priority along with putting up a good show in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“All our work has been programmed to get us in form for the qualifiers,” Stimac said in a statement.
Indian Arrows defender Narender Gahlot was named in the list along with FC Goa wing-half Mandar Rao Desai. Jobby Justin, the former East Bengal striker, is another new inclusion in the squad.
Stimac had summoned 35 players for the preparatory camp before trimming it down to 25 after the 10-day camp. The list will be further pruned to 23 before the opening match.
The 10 players who failed to make the cut are Vishal Kaith, Nishu Kumar, Salam Ranjan Singh, Sarthak Golui, Anwar Ali, Raynier Fernandes, Michael Soosairaj, Nikhil Poojary, Jackiechand Singh, and Balwant Singh. Ashique Kuruniyan was earlier released from the camp.
The squad: Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Kamaljit Singh; Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan, Adil Khan, Anas Edathodika, Narender Gahlot, Subhasish Bose, Jerry Lalrinzuala; Midfielders: Kuman Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa, Pronay Halder, Rowllin Borges, Vinit Rai, Sahal Abdul, Amarjit Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Mandar Rao Desai; Forwards: Jobby Justin, Sunil Chhetri, Farukh Choudhary, Manvir Singh.