Head coach Stephen Constantine announced his 23-man India squad for the AFC Asian Cup, 2019 on Wednesday.
The Blue Tigers are set to take on Oman on December 27 at the Bani Yas Stadium in Abu Dhabi in a closed-door preparatory match. India is also expected to play another practice match before their first competitive match on January 6 against a local club.
Centre-back Anas Edathodika and central defensive midfielder Pronay Halder have passed a late fitness test to be included in the final squad. However, Manvir Singh, Farukh Choudhary, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Lalruatthara and goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya have failed to make the cut.
India’s Group A opponents are Bahrain, UAE and Thailand. The Blue Tigers will play their first match of the campaign against Thailand at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
India final squad for the AFC Asian Cup 2019:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru FC), Amrinder Singh (Mumbai City FC), Vishal Kaith (FC Pune City).
Defenders: Pritam Kotal (ATK), Sarthak Golui (FC Pune City), Sandesh Jhingan (Kerala Blasters FC), Anas Edathodika (Kerala Blasters FC), Salam Ranjan Singh (Quess East Bengal), Subhasish Bose (Mumbai City FC), Narayan Das (Delhi Dynamos FC);
Midfielders: Udanta Singh (Bengaluru FC), Rowllin Borges (NorthEast United FC), Anirudh Thapa (Chennaiyin FC), Vinit Rai (Delhi Dynamos FC), Halicharan Narzary (Kerala Blasters FC), Ashique Kuruniyan (FC Pune City), Germanpreet Singh (Chennaiyin FC), Jackichand Singh (FC Goa), Pronay Halder (ATK).
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC), Sumeet Passi (Jamshedpur FC), Balwant Singh (ATK).
