The India national football team have got their preparations up and running in Bangalore ahead of the mega clash against Asian giants Iran in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualifiers on Tuesday.
Stephen Constantine's will play the game at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru - the home of I-League side Bengaluru FC – and a final list of 23 players has been announced.
Among the notable players who missed the cut include Salgaocar FC custodian Karanjit Singh, who was snapped up by Indian Super League franchisee Chennaiyin FC in the domestic player auctions earlier this summer.
The 29-year-old Punjab lad played for the remainder of India's game against Nepal on 31 August in an international friendly, after being brought on in place of Subrata Paul in the second half, who was the skipper for the day.
The game turned out to be a goalless draw and it was a regarded by coach Stephen Constantine as a warmup game ahead of the clash against Iran.
However, looking ahead to the match against powehouses Iran, Constantine wants to give the fans in Bengaluru a reason to cheer. "We have great support here. The fans are really behind the National Team. I appreciate that and so do the Players," Constantine told to the AIFF website.
"I hope we can give the fans something to cheer about. I will be very difficult match for us but that's the time when you can discover on whom you can depend upon," he added.
Young prodigy Brandon Fernandes, who attracted attention from a host of European clubs during trials with the ASD Football Academy in Cape Town, South Africa, is also missing from the list of players, and so is striker Holicharan Narzary, who is ruled out due to illness.
Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Pronay Halder, who played in the heart of midfield against Nepal, make the list, while Sandesh Jhingan and Dhanpal Ganesh, who partnered in the centre of the defence, also make the cut.
According to the latest FIFA rankings, India are in the 155th position, whereas Iran are ranked 40th in the world.
Full list of 23 players announced ahead of the game against Iran:
Goalkeepers: Subrata Paul, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Arindam Bhattacharya.
Defenders: Dhanpal Ganesh, Arnab Mondal, Sandesh Jhingan, Aiborlang Khongjee, Dhanachandra Singh, Narayan Das, Rino Anto, Pritam Kotal.
Midfielders: Eugenson Lyngdoh, Cavin Lobo, Sehnaj Singh, Jackichand Singh, Pronay Halder, Francis Fernandes, CK Vineeth, Rowlin Borges, Romeo Fernandes.
Forwards: Jeje Lalpekhlua, Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri.
