Sunil remains, but Gurpreet out of the probables for the Thailand friendly and the Asian Cup qualifier; Suhail Bhat gets maiden call
India head coach Manolo Márquez announced a 28-member probables’ squad for the national camp in Kolkata on 18th May before the June FIFA International window. Mohun Bagan Super Giants striker Suhail Ahmad Bhat has received a maiden call-up for his impressive performance in the Super Cup, while the country’s leading custodian, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, remains out of the side. He last played for India in a friendly against Malaysia last year, where his blunder gifted a goal to the opponent in a 1-1 draw. He was kept out of the squad for India’s first two games of 2025, a friendly against the Maldives and the Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh, with Vishal Kaith replacing him between the sticks. However, in a bid to regain his form Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has gone back to his former Norweian club Stabæk Fotball, which currently plays in the Norwegian first division league, which is the second tier in the country to undergo an intense training with the first eleven. He posted on the social media recently that he got permission to train only with the club’s first eleven for around two months. The Bengaluru FC shot-stopper would be training under his former goalkeeping coach, Espen Granli. India is currently eyeing three consecutive qualifications in the AFC Asian Cup, and is drawn in Group C with Bangladesh, Hong Kong China, and Singapore in the third round of qualifiers. The Blue Tigers’ next big competitive fixtures will be against Hong Kong, which they will play away on 10th June at the Kai Tak Sports Park, in Kowloon City. The first two qualifiers in Group C, between India and Bangladesh in Shillong, and between Singapore and Hong Kong, China, in Singapore, ended in stalemates, leaving all four teams with a point apiece. As part of its preparations for the qualifier, India will have a 10-day training camp in Kolkata, followed by a friendly against Thailand on 4th June.
