Khalid Jamil Finally Opens Up on Leaving Sunil Chhetri Out of India’s CAFA Squad: 'Want To Try Other Players'

Khalid Jamil, the head coach of the Indian Football Team, has broken the silence over Sunil Chhetri's omission from the India squad for the CAFA Nations Cup.

The Indian football coach explained Sunil Chhetri’s absence by stating that he wanted to test other players during the FIFA window.

It is a new era for Indian football as Khalid Jamil takes over as the new coach of the Indian football team. As an Indian who takes the helm for the first time in 13 years, it would be a tremendous responsibility for him to elevate the team.

Khalid Jamil Explains Why Sunil Chhetri Was Left Out Of The India Squad 

Team India has commenced its training for the CAFA Nations Cup at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence on August 16 in Bengaluru. But the absence of Sunil Chhetri stirred a debate.

Coach Khalid Jamil has opened up about Sunil Chhetri's absence, saying that he wanted to try some other players during the FIFA window.

He added that Chhetri's absence stemmed from the logic that the team is playing a tournament, which is primarily a preparatory run for the upcoming Asian Cup Qualifiers.

“He’s not there in this camp because we are playing a tournament, which will essentially serve as a preparation for our Asian Cup Qualifiers. I also want to try out a few other players during this FIFA window.

"I had a talk with him about the same. It’s always a pleasure to have a player like him in the team,” Khalid Jamil said as per a statement from the AIFF.

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Team India Has Big Targets To Chase Down the Road

As Khalid Jamil takes up the new role in the Indian Football Team, the goal would be to bring balance back to the team and perform well.

The Manolo Marquez era did not work out well, and the team would pull a reset on things and focus on the challenges at hand.

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Team India would set its sights on the AFC Asian Cup Final Round Qualifiers, in which the Blue Tigers would face off against Singapore in a Group C encounter on October 09 in an away fixture, and then on October 14 in the country.