Mumbai : Fourteen players, including Bengaluru FC captain Sunil Chhetri, are not immediately joining the preparatory camp for next month’s Asian Cup qualifying round matches against Singapore as three clubs have delayed the release of their players, which will be a cause of concern for head coach Khalid Jamil.
According to sources, all the seven Bengaluru FC players, three from East Bengal and four from Punjab FC been named in the original list of 30 probables, will join the national camp, beginning in Bengaluru , only towards the end of this month.
India will face Singapore in an away match on October 9 and play against the same opponents on October 14 in Goa. If the 14 players join the camp towards the end of this month, they will have training time of barely a week.
“Seven players from BFC, four from East Bengal and three from Punjab FC are not joining the camp immediately. The three clubs said they will release their players only towards the end of September,” according to a source.
Under the rules, the clubs are, however, not obligated to release the players early as the FIFA international match window falls from October 6 to 14, though Jamil would have wanted to train the players together for a longer time.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) added two more players to the probables, taking the total number to 32. But the AIFF has said that players from Mohun Bagan SG and FC Goa, who have been shortlisted in the probables, will be called up later, after their AFC Champions League Two engagements are over.( PTI )
Jamil forced to begin national camp without top stars!
