India announce U-23 squad for Qatar friendly

The likes of Ashique Kuruniyan and Sahil Panwar have failed to make the cut.

The roster for India U-23's upcoming friendly against Qatar has been announced via Indian Football Team's official Twitter handle. The match will take place on 11th March, 2019, in Doha.

Lately, the squad has been training at Goa's Tilak Maidan under new U-23 tactician Derrick Pereira. Earlier in February, the AIFF had announced a list of probables, which has now been trimmed down. 

There are a few notable absentees which include Ashique Kuruniyan (FC Pune City), Sahil Panwar (FC Pune City), Mohammad Nawaz (FC Goa), Samuel Kynshi (Shillong Lajong), and Anirudh Thapa (Chennaiyin FC). The likes of Thapa and Nawaz not making the cut is probably due to their club commitments. FC Goa are currently in the semi-finals of the Indian Super League, while Chennaiyin have a crunch AFC Cup playoff clash against Colombo FC on 13th March.

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The upcoming friendly fixture is in preparation for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers, to be held in Uzbekistan between 22-26 March 2019.

The squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Singh, Prabhsukhan Gill

Defenders: Narender, Sarthak Golui, Wungngayam Muirang, Mehtab Singh, Anwar Ali, Asish Rai

Midfielders: Jerry M, Lalianzuala Chhangte, Vinit Rai, Amarjit Singh, Deepak Tangri, Rohit Kumar, Suresh Singh, Komal Thatal, Boris Singh, Rahul KP

Forwards: Liston Colaco, Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Rahim Ali, Rohit Danu

Head Coach: Derrick Pereira