Three ways Pramveer Singh can grow into major player for Indian football team

India are winless in the last 4 matches

The Indian football team saw their tour of Tajikistan end with a relatively underwhelming 1-1 draw in their second friendly on Tuesday (9 June 2026). It was a frustrating watch for the fans because of how passive Khalid Jamil’s side became after scoring the opening goal, opting to close into a shell in the hopes of snatching a narrow win.

While the Indian attackers mostly disappointed in the game, the performance of the defenders was one of the few bright points of the game.

The Indian backline was definitely a unique one in the draw against Tajikistan, with Khalid Jamil giving first starts to Pramveer and Bijoy Varghese to play alongside Sandesh Jhingan in the backline.

To his credit, the young Pramveer was actually able to hold his own against Tajikistan’s forward and add a strong layer of protection for the Indian backline with his rigid defensive work.

He ensured that the Blue Tigers were able to withstand pressure from the hosts and at least didn’t concede a goal from open play, making a number of crucial challenges to frustrate Tajikistan.

The fact that he’s able to produce such a rigid performance at the age of 18 only shows how the sky is the limit for the Punjab FC defender.

His heroics against Tajikistan were proof that Pramveer is likely to be a key player for the Blue Tigers for years to come, and here we look at three ways to utilize his potential to help him become a key player for the Indian team.

3. Forming bond with Anwar Ali and Sandesh Jhingan

Pramveer’s impressive performances in recent games for India are an indication that he should ideally be picked on a regular basis in the India squad for future matches. The 18-year-old has to be realistic about his current position within the Blue Tigers squad, knowing that there are more experienced centre-backs above the pecking order than him.

Right now, the strongest centre-back duo for the Blue Tigers is probably that of Sandesh Jhingan and Anwar Ali – mixing a good blend of experience, composure and leadership skills between them.

Hence, what Pramveer should aim to do is to learn from his senior centre-backs on how to smartly operate in challenging international games – as well as aspects about timing challenges, reading opposition moves and making clearances. If he can bond well with Anwar and Jhingan, Pramveer will automatically become more confident while playing for India and be able to form solid partnerships at the back with both of them.

The 18-year-old is likely to get sporadic starts going forward and might be restricted to substitute apperances for the near future, but as long as his understanding with the senior centre-backs are solid – that should help him continue churning out sturdy performances and help add more solidity to the Indian backline.

2. Putting his versatility to good use

The good thing about Pramveer is that he’s not exactly a one-trick pony, being able to operate in a variety of different roles for club & country. Even though the teenager is naturally a centre-back, who can play on either side of the defensive partnership, he can also operate in other positions if required.

Indeed, Pramveer has played in a defensive midfield role in the past and even in the last match against Tajikistan and has shown a nice adaptability to his playing style – being willing to operate in different positions for the benefit of his side.

If Pramveer can keep working on his versatility to prove himself as capable of excellent in a midfield or perhaps in a full-back role, that would further amplify his importance in the Indian squad.

As long as he can prove himself capable of holding together things in the midfield or take on speedy wingers in other defensive roles, Pramveer will gain more confidence from the Indian gaffer to give him even more playing time.

The Punjab FC man just needs to keep working on adding more attributes to his playing style to become an even more all-round player who can thrive in a number of different scenarios for the Blue Tigers.

1. Eliminating error-prone nature in key moments

With the Indian football team prone to facing a barrage of attacks from opposition attacking sides in most matches, they need their defensive structure to be as perfect as possible to hold off the opponents from running riot in their half.

As a result, they need their defenders to be at their sharpest at all times – knowing that unnecessary errors will only help gift goals to the opposition attackers.

Pramveer has only gotten a few games in the bag with the Indian football team so far, but he needs to ensure that he eliminates any error-prone moments lingering in his game. The cost of making errors in an international match are extremely costly, because experienced foreign attacking players rarely waste chances gifted to them.

Pramveer might be a proactive and hard-working defender, but he also needs to be smart into not overcommitting to challenges or being unnecessarily aggressive – knowing both factors can cause unforced errors.

He needs to be smart with his challenges and duel-winning nature, not making fouls in costly areas or giving away penalties – as that would undo a lot of the good done by the Indian backline.

As long as he is able to prove himself as a reliable centre-back who isn’t prone to making frustrating errors, Pramveer’s reputation will only grow in the Indian side and he can soon become a key starter for the Blue Tigers as well.

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