Top three players who should become core pillars of Khalid Jamil's India set-up

The Blue Tigers have failed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027

The Indian football team faced their first major setback under Khalid Jamil after failing to qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The Blue Tigers will miss out on the continental tournament after participating in the last two editions, causing a lot of dismay and frustration among the fans.

However, all Jamil can do is move forward and aim to ensure that India bounces back from this strongly. He has some tough decisions to make in the future, which include the players that he aims to keep in his squad for the long term. It’s clear that not every player to featured in the loss to Singapore recently will have a lengthy future with the Blue Tigers.

With that being said, Jamil can benefit from making some admirable performers into important members of his squad. He needs to start building a ‘core’ of his top players, who can act as leaders for the rest and also be given the responsibility of trying to lead the Blue Tigers from the front. Here, we look at the three Indian players who should become core members of Khalid Jamil’s lineup going forward.

3. Lalengmawia Ralte

It can actually be argued that Lalengmawia Ralte is the most reliable midfielder in the current India team set-up. The Mohun Bagan midfielder produced a pretty good showing for himself in the game against Singapore, driving his side forward with clever forward passes and winning quite a lot of duels. Apuia has garnered quite a lot of experience under his belt in the international scene, having made 27 appearances for India since his debut in 2021.

The 25-year-old midfielder is technically sound enough to hold his own against formidable opponents, as he’s very press-resistant, able to distribute the ball really swiftly and diligent enough to win the duels to regain possession in promising areas. Apuia is a pocket of energy that Khalid Jamil should always want to liven up his team, and Mohun Bagan deserves to play more regularly as a key player for the Blue Tigers.

2. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has made quite the triumphant return to the international scene under Khalid Jamil and seemingly won over the coach with his heroics. He was the star of the show for India in the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup, playing a crucial role in the win over Oman in the third-place playoff. Gurpreet was actually one of India’s better players in the recent Asian Cup qualifiers, especially in the first game in Singapore, where he made a string of important saves.

The Bengaluru FC goalkeeper is the most experienced goalkeeper in India, with 82 international caps to his name. At 33, Gurpreet can still go on strongly for India for a few years and his presence is necessary to maintain a strong bond in the India squad. Not only is he a reliable goalkeeper capable of using his tall stature to make crucial saves, but Gurpreet’s commanding nature and leadership skills make him a valuable cog in Jamil’s system for India.

Also Read: Should India turn to U23 stars for final Asian Cup Qualifiers against Bangladesh & Hong Kong?

1. Anwar Ali

At a time when Khalid Jamil is still searching for his most reliable defenders in the Indian set-up, Anwar Ali has managed to stand out as an undroppable. Ali has churned out some excellent performances for the Blue Tigers under Jamil, being one of India’s best players in the CAFA Nations Cup campaign. He was excellent in the draw against Singapore, playing a huge role to ensuring that the Lions didn’t win that. Anwar was also relatively solid in the loss to Singapore, coming up with crucial challenges time and again and driving his side forward with smart passes.

Anwar is arguably the best defender at India’s disposal and there needs to be emphasis placed on revamping the defensive set-up to benefit him. Khalid needs to give the East Bengal defender more responsibilities to be a commanding figure in the backline who holds together the defensive shape and keeps his teammates on their toes by being more vocal. Anwar definitely needs to be among the core pillars of the India side for them to be a more sturdy defensive unit and record more clean sheets going forward.

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