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SportsFootball

India open SAFF camp in Kolkata with only 15 players, three days before Pakistan opener

Head coach Naushad Moosa held his first session at the National Centre of Excellence on Monday. Players from ISL clubs still in action will join the squad in Dhaka later.

From the editorial desk · KolkataPublished
India national football team line-up at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup (file photo)
India national football team line-up at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup (file photo)Photo: Mehdi Zare / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Key points

  1. India held their first SAFF training session in Kolkata on Monday with 15 players.
  2. The team leave for Dhaka on Tuesday and open against Pakistan on 5 November.
  3. Several players, including Liston Colaco, will join only after their ISL fixtures.

India began their SAFF Championship preparations in Kolkata on Monday with only 15 players at the first session, three days before they open their campaign against Pakistan in Dhaka.

Head coach Naushad Moosa and his assistant Bibiano Fernandes put the group through its paces at the National Centre of Excellence. Three more players were expected to arrive on Monday night, which would give Moosa 18 players for the Pakistan match.

The thin numbers are the cost of the calendar. The tournament starts before the FIFA window, so players from clubs still busy in the ISL will join only in Dhaka, after the league’s fifth matchweek. Liston Colaco of Mohun Bagan Super Giant is due after his side’s game against Odisha FC on 5 November, and East Bengal’s Sandip Mandi and PV Vishnu after the trip to Chennaiyin FC two days later.

Those in Kolkata included Mohun Bagan’s Abhishek Suryavanshi, Priyansh Dubey and Suhail Bhat, FC Goa’s Rony Wilson and Mohammedan SC’s Adison Singh. Punjab FC’s Nikhil Prabhu completed the full session despite a limp from Saturday’s match against Mohun Bagan.

The team fly to Dhaka on Tuesday. India, the defending champions, play Pakistan on 5 November and the Maldives on 11 November in their second and final group match.

Only a fortnight ago it was not clear whether India would send a side at all, because the Dhaka dates clashed with friendlies in New Zealand. Monday’s session settled that question, even if Moosa will have to start the title defence without several of his first choices.