New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) India’s football team coach Stephen Constantine on Wednesday called up 22 players, currently busy training for their respective Indian Super League (ISL) franchises, for the two upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
The players are expected to report to Mumbai on October 4, an All India Football Federation (AIFF) statement said on Wednesday.
This follows a controversy after the ISL organisers initially refused to release the Indian players for the two away qualifying games, on October 8 and 13, against Turkmenistan and Oman, respectively, leaving the national team with the possibility of playing those matches without any preparation.
A preparatory camp scheduled to start on September 29 didn’t materialise because of it. The AIFF later said an agreement to release players has been reached.
ISL begins on October 3 with defending champions Atletico de Kolkata playing Chennaiyin FC in Chennai.
The squad: Subrata Paul, Karanjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Arnab Mondal, Sandesh Jhingan, Aiborlang Khongjee, Dhanachandra Singh, Lalchhuanmawia, Narayan Das, Rino Anto, Pritam Kotal, Eugenson Lyngdoh, Cavin Lobo, Sehnaj Singh, Jackichand Singh, Pronoy Halder, Francis Fernandes, Rowlin Borges, Bikash Jairu, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri.
