Star goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was on Friday dropped from India’s squad for the two-match friendly tie against New Zealand after his dismal performance against Brazil and Uruguay, while Anwar Ali missed out on selection after suffering a hamstring injury.
Anwar’s Grade 1 hamstring injury comes as a blow to India, with the East Bengal defender facing a potential spell on the sidelines of more than a month.
Lalengmawia Ralte (Apuia) and Mohammed Sanan have also been ruled out because of injuries.
The omission of Gurpreet comes after his disappointing outing in India’s 0-4 loss to Brazil.
The Blue Tigers are scheduled to take on the All Whites at Auckland’s Go Media Stadium on Thursday at 11:30 am IST, before facing them again at Christchurch’s
One New Zealand Stadium on Sunday, November 15, at 8:30 am IST.
The team also includes three footballers from Naushad Moosa’s SAFF Championship team: Bijoy Varghese, Muhammad Suhail and Liston Colaco, who will leave the tournament in Dhaka to join Jamil’s team for the New Zealand tour.
Meanwhile, Farukh Choudhary, Noufal PN and Hmingthanmawia Ralte have been released from the SAFF Championship team and will return to their respective club, Mumbai City FC.
Ronney Kharbudon will also miss the trip to Dhaka because of an injury.
The New Zealand-bound team will assemble in Bengaluru on Saturday, November 7 and start training the next day before flying to Auckland later on Sunday night.
“New Zealand are also a World Cup-playing nation and a strong opponent and these two matches will be a good test for us away from home. We want to prepare well, play with discipline and use this opportunity to improve as a team,” Jamil said.
India 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
