In a surprising development, Indian men’s national team head coach Khalid Jamil on Wednesday, announced a 23-member list of probables for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture against Bangladesh, with some striking omissions. The most notable among them – no players from Mohun Bagan Super Giant and no Sunil Chhetri in the squad.
India are scheduled to face Bangladesh at the National Stadium in Dhaka on November 18, in their AFC Asian Cup 2027 Final Round Qualifier. The Blue Tigers will begin their preparatory camp in Bengaluru from Thursday, November 6, before travelling to Dhaka on November 15.
However, the absence of Mohun Bagan players has raised eyebrows. Sources close to the club have revealed that the exclusion stems from a dispute over player release outside the FIFA international window, which begins on November 10.
According to club sources, the AIFF had called all Indian players to report for camp before the official window, which left Mohun Bagan hesitant to release their players. As per FIFA regulations, if a player sustains an injury during an international window, FIFA compensates the player’s salary until they recover. But if the injury occurs outside that window, the responsibility does not lie with FIFA.
A close source from Mohun Bagan explained, “AIFF has refused to compensate salaries if a player gets injured outside the international window. As a club, we cannot take that additional financial risk. We have no problem if a player voluntarily joins the camp early, but in that case, the injury and salary risk will fall on the player himself.”
This situation has effectively ruled out Mohun Bagan’s Indian contingent from joining the national camp, leading to their omission from Jamil’s list.
Adding to the intrigue is the absence of legendary forward Sunil Chhetri, who had come out of retirement in March this year at the request of then-coach Manolo Marquez. With India’s hopes of qualification to the next round already over, Chhetri’s name being missing from the squad has sparked speculation that the veteran might be ready to draw the curtain on his illustrious international career.
Meanwhile, Khalid Jamil has introduced a youthful flavour to the squad, calling up promising names like Mohammed Sanan, Bikash Yumnam, Paramveer Singh, and Lewis Macarton. With the fixture against Bangladesh holding no bearing on qualification, it offers Jamil the chance to test emerging talents and begin shaping the next generation of Indian footballers.
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