Doha, June 9 (IANS): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has been named India captain for the crucial tie against Qatar in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 match to be held at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday.
Earlier, head coach Igor Stimac had named a 23-member squad to travel for the fixture. Apart from captain Sunil Chhetri, who retired after his last game for the country against Kuwait on Thursday, defenders Amey Ranawade, Lalchungnunga and Subhasish Bose did not travel to Qatar. Bose was released on his request because of personal reasons.
About Ranawade and Lalchungnunga, Stimac said, "I was happy to have both of them with us. We worked on various aspects of their game for the future. We had a nice talk before we released them and they know which parts of their game they need to grow for the upcoming season. I hope both of them will use the time ahead to improve and come back stronger."
As far as the captain's armband is concerned, Stimac mentioned that it was a no-brainer to hand it to Gurpreet Singh Sandhu for Tuesday's match. With 72 caps, the 32-year-old is now the most experienced and longest-serving player in the national team after Chhetri's departure.
The match between Qatar and India will be streamed live on FanCode.