A 28-member Indian national squad will leave for Doha on Wednesday evening for the three forthcoming matches in the qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup. The games are slated to be played from 3 June onwards.
As per the health parameters required to travel to Qatar, all the travelling players and staff have to carry with them negative test results from the RT-PCR tests conducted in the last 48 hours. The Indian contingent has been staying in a bio-bubble at the team hotel in New Delhi since 15 May.
India have struggled to train for the qualifiers amid the ferocious second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Head coach Igor Stimac said that it is not the "ideal situation" ahead of the qualifiers but the team will be putting in "intense" sessions before the matches get underway.
The Indian players are also lacking game time, with the two friendlies they played last month against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman in late March being the only matches they have played since the end of the Indian Super League earlier that month.
"It's not an ideal situation as we move ahead to the qualifiers in June. Due to the pandemic, our national camp which was slated to begin in Kolkata at the beginning of May had to get cancelled. The pandemic also robbed us of a friendly match in Dubai," Stimac highlighted.
"However, we understand the magnitude of the situation, and it will be intense sessions in Doha to raise the tempo and try to get ready for the matches which starts with the one against the Asian champions Qatar in Doha," he added.
India are scheduled to face off with Qatar on 3 June, Bangladesh on 7 June, and Afghanistan on 15 June with all three matches to be played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha. Glan Martins is the only fresh face among the 28 named for the camp. This is the first time the FC Goa midfielder has broken into the national circuit.
Meanwhile, captain Sunil Chhetri was thrilled to get back into the national team set-up. The ace striker had missed the friendlies in March after testing positive for COVID-19. "It's such a relief to be back in the national team squad -- after all, home is where the heart is. Personally, I am eagerly looking forward to being in Doha. The last time I was in Doha, I couldn't be a part of the match against Qatar owing to illness," said Chhetri.
"The matches in June are extremely tough and we need to take them one at a time. Given the fact that we don't have much time, the preparatory camp will add immense value helping all to gel together, and strike that chord ahead of the first match," the Indian skipper pointed out.
The round of qualification matches is being played in Doha as the original format of home and away matches could not be followed due to the pandemic. India currently sit at fourth position in Group E, with just 3 points under their belt. While they are out of contention to progress in the World Cup qualifiers, they are still in the race to qualify for the Asian Cup.
Indian Squad
GOALKEEPERS: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Dheeraj Singh.
DEFENDERS: Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Narender Gehlot, Chinglensana Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Adil Khan, Akash Mishra, Subhashish Bose.
MIDFIELDERS: Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Liston Colaco, Rowllin Borges, Glan Martins, Anirudh Thapa, Pronoy Halder, Suresh Singh, Lalengmawia Ralte, Abdul Sahal, Yasir Mohammad, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan.
FORWARDS: Ishan Pandita, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)