No Sunil Chhetri in Khalid Jamil's India squad; two Malayali players included

NEW DELHI: A 23-member Indian squad for the Central Asian Football Association Nations Cup starting on the 29th of this month was announced on Monday. Former Indian captain Sunil Chhetri was surprisingly dropped from the squad selected by new coach Khalid Jamil. Chhetri was not even called for the training camp.

In 2025, Chhetri came out of retirement to join the Indian team at the invitation of Manolo Marquez, who replaced Igor Stimac as head coach. The Nations Cup is Khalid's first tournament after Manolo's departure. Meanwhile, Khalid Jamil has revealed why he dropped the former captain.

“This is not an important tournament, and it would be better to use young players here. Chhetri is arguably the best football player currently in India,” said Khalid Jamil.

The 23-member squad for the Nations Cup includes Malayalis midfielder Ashique Kuruniyan and striker Jithin M.S. India's first match is against Tajikistan on the 29th. They will face Iran on September 1 and Afghanistan on the 4th.