AFC Asian Cup 2019: India announce final 23-man squad

Head coach Stephen Constantine announced his 23-man squad for the AFC Asian Cup, 2019 on Wednesday.

The Blue Tigers are set to take on Oman on December 27 at the Bani Yas Stadium in Abu Dhabi in a closed-door preparatory match. India is also expected to play another practice match before their first competitive match on January 6 against a local club.

Centre-back Anas Edathodika and central defensive midfielder Pronay Halder are yet to attain full fitness but have been included in the final squad. However, Manvir Singh, Farukh Choudhary, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Lalruatthara and goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya have failed to make the cut. 

India's Group A opponents are Bahrain, UAE and Thailand. The Blue Tigers will play their first match of the campaign against Thailand at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

INDIA 23-MAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers : Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru), Amrinder Singh (Mumbai City), Vishal Kaith (Pune City).

Defenders : Pritam Kotal (ATK), Sarthak Golui (Pune City), Sandesh Jhingan (Kerala Blasters), Anas Edathodika (Kerala Blasters), Salam Ranjan Singh (East Bengal), Subhasish Bose (Mumbai City), Narayan Das (Delhi Dynamos);

Midfielders : Udanta Singh (Bengaluru), Rowllin Borges (NorthEast United), Anirudh Thapa (Chennaiyin), Vinit Rai (Delhi Dynamos), Halicharan Narzary (Kerala Blasters), Ashique Kuruniyan (Pune City), Germanpreet Singh (Chennaiyin), Jackichand Singh (Goa), Pronay Halder (ATK).

Forwards : Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin), Sumeet Passi (Jamshedpur), Balwant Singh (ATK).