Six key players of the Indian national football team competing in the ongoing SAFF Championship have left the squad to join their clubs and the senior national team.
India sent an under-23 team to the tournament being held in Bangladesh. Entrusted to Naushad Moosa, an experienced coach in Indian domestic football, the under-23 team even went to the tournament with fewer players than the official squad size.
Every team can take a maximum squad of 23 players to the tournament. However, India took 17 players. In the first match of the tournament, the team triumphed 3-2 over Pakistan, a political rival of India.
The tradition of refusing to shake hands, often seen in cricket matches, was not witnessed in the match played between these two teams. Players from both teams shook hands with each other before and after the match.
Even if through a hard-fought win, India managed to defeat Pakistan. However, after that match, with the announcement to take players for India's senior team, coach Naushad faced major challenges in assembling the team for the remaining matches of the SAFF Championship.
The squad compiled by senior national team coach Khalid Jamil includes three players from those who went to the SAFF Championship. They are winger Liston Colaco, forward Mohamed Suhail, and defender Bijoy Varghese. All three players also departed from Dhaka after the Pakistan match. Those players are expected to play in the matches where India's senior team plays against New Zealand this coming Thursday and on the 15th of this month.
Indian media stated that since this period is not a FIFA international window, clubs object to releasing players. Farooq Choudhary, Nofal PN, and Hmingthanmawia Ralte, who play for Mumbai City FC, have left the SAFF Championship squad and returned to their club.
According to Indian newspapers, Mumbai City had previously agreed to release those players only for the match played against Pakistan. Furthermore, due to injury, defender Rony Harbudon could not participate in the tournament. Therefore, the Indian team's bench also had very few players.
The Times of India stated that clubs withheld 10 important players of the country without releasing them for the SAFF Championship.
India's next match is against the Maldives next Wednesday.
