India play Curacao in their first on June 5
New Delhi: Indian football head coach Igor Stimac on Sunday named six newcomers in the final list of 23 players for the King’s Cup, to be held in Buriram, Thailand from June 5.
The six newcomers include Rahul Bheke, Brandon Fernandes, Raynier Fernandes, Michael Soosairaj, Abdul Sahal and India U-17 World Cup team captain Amarjit Singh. Meanwhile, Adil Khan has made a comeback to the squad post 2012, while goalkeeper Kamaljit Singh is yet to make his international debut. “We had to make the difficult decision about the remaining two slots in the squad, and eventually, Nishu Kumar and Jobby Justin were released,” the coach informed. The team leaves for Thailand on Sunday and will have an overnight stay in Bangkok tonight. They will fly to Buriram on Monday morning. India will play Curacao in their first match of King’s Cup on June 5, while the second match is slated for June 8.
“We accomplished our work in Delhi, and I would like to use this opportunity to appreciate everyone’s involvement in helping us in doing so,” Stimac said. “I need to thank AIFF, the players, the media, the hotel authorities, and obviously the Sports Authority for providing us with great training facilities,” he added. Central defender Sandesh Jhingan said everyone thoroughly enjoyed the camp, and are all pumped up. “The coach has brought in his new system. We are playing more with the ball now — more of an attacking side of football. With the success we have had before, players are motivated. They believe they can do more. Everyone is hungry for more success,” Jhingan said. He felt it is always a bonus for a player if the coach has played in his position. “He was a central defender who has played in the FIFA World Cup France 1998 where Croatia finished third, and has played League football at the highest level, and also been a youth world champion. (PTI)
