New faces called up for Indian football team as Khalid Jamil era begins

13 players are yet to join the Indian Football Team camp in Bengaluru.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced its list of probables for Khalid Jamil’s first camp as head coach of the Senior Men’s National Team. The camp will be held in Dravid-Padukone Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru between 15th to 25th August.

Jamil’s Blue Tigers will be participating in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025, which will kick off on August 29, followed by two AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers against Singapore on October 9 and 14. While there is no mention of Sunil Chhetri, the camp is missing 13 players due to their duties for their clubs in the ongoing Durand Cup.

The squad that comprised as many as 33 names also featured many who we are yet to see on the international circuit. In this article, we take a look at four such names who could be in the running for making their debuts for the Blue Tigers.

Sunil Benchamin

It was quite the shock for a lot of Indian Football fans when they saw Sunil’s name on the probables list. Not Chhetri, but Benchamin, the defender for the Indian Army.

The 32-year-old defender from Kerala has produced some important performances for Diamond Harbour FC in the 2024-25 season as they went on to attain qualification to the I-League. Prior to that, he had spent a season at TRAU FC in the I-League.

Alex Saji

Another new face in the side is Alex Saji, another defender from Kerala. Saji began his career at Redstar Football Academy before joining the Kerala Blasters youth team.

He plied his trade at Gokulam Kerala from 2019 to 2022 before he was finally picked by an Indian Super League (ISL) club, Hyderabad FC. The 25-year-old centre-back provides depth to Khalid Jamil’s defensive options, and will be eager to prove his mettle against more established names.

Manvir Singh

After Khalid Jamil signed him for Jamshedpur FC, he has also roped him into the national scheme of things. A product of Ozone FC Bengaluru, Manvir has meanwhile played for a number of clubs at a young age of 24.

After signing for Kerala Blasters in 2019, he spent a couple of seasons in the I-League before making it back to the ISL in 2021 with NorthEast United FC, where he worked with Jamil. He played for Mohammedan SC in the last ISL season. A right winger, Manvir can bring extra pace and guile to Jamil’s choices.

Albino Gomes

Albino is not a new name in the Indian Footballing circuit; however, due to the dominance of the likes of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh and Vishal Kaith, the Goan goalkeeper has been far from the conversations of the Indian Number One.

Having represented Salgaocar in the early stages of his career, Albino has since guarded many posts, most recently Jamshedpur’s under the head coach himself. The 31-year-old will look to throw a challenge to the established names for a spot in the final squad.

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