Sunil Chhetri to make international comeback against Jordan
(Twitter)
India forward Sunil Chhetri has been named in the 25-member squad for the international friendly against Jordan, in Doha, on May 28. The 37-year-old is returning to competitive football after a gap of six months and last played for India in their 3-0 win over Nepal at the SAFF Championship final.
Ever since that, he could not make it to the Indian team owing to an injury. Besides Chhetri, Ishan Pandita has also made a comeback in the forward line, while VP Suhair and Rahim Ali were left out.
In the midfield, Glan Martins, Ritwik Das, Udanta Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Suresh Wangjam and Aashique Kuriniyan have been included with Pronay Halder and Danish Bhat being the notable omissions. As far as the defence is concerned, Rahul Bheke, Akash Mishra, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Roshan Singh, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhashish Bose, and Pritam Kotal make it to the team.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Amrinder Singh remain a constant under the crossbar, Laxmikath Kattimani replaced Prabhsukhan Singh Gill following his heroics in the ISL final. Meanwhile, the Indian team has played practice matches against ATK Mohun Bagan, the Hero I-League and Hero Santosh Trophy All-Stars team and the West Bengal team.
The Indian team will now leave for Doha on May 25, and train till their match on May 28. Post that match, the team will begin to train for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
Squad
Goalkeepers
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Laxmikanth Kattimani, Amrinder Singh
Defenders: Rahul Bheke, Akash Mishra, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Roshan Singh, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhashish Bose, Pritam Kotal
Midfielders: Jeakson Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Glan Martins, Brandon Fernandes, Ritwik Das, Udanta Singh, Yasir Mohammad, Sahal Abdul Samad, Suresh Wangjam, Ashique Kuruniyan, Liston Colaco
Forwards: Ishan Pandita, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh
