Who is Sunil Benchamin, the new name in the Indian national team camp?

Sunil Benchamin recently played for Army Red in the Durand Cup 2025.

Newly appointed Indian Football Team head coach Khalid Jamil pulled off a surprise move by including the Army man Sunil Benchamin in the probables list for the national team camp ahead of the CAFA Nations Cup.

Khalid Jamil is known to break conventions. His tenure with Mumbai FC, Aizawl FC, or Jamshedpur FC reflects his groundbreaking approach and a willingness to take risks. Jamil trusts his instincts and likes to do what he thinks is required to execute his plans. Once again, he has done something that has never happened before, and that too in the first-ever selection announcement as the national team coach.

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Normally, we don’t see players from service backgrounds being called up for the national team. Let alone a player with armed forces credentials, players from the I League have also not received a look-in from national team managers in the last few years.

Also Read: Five major talking points of Khalid Jamil’s first provisional India squad

Maiden call-up for Sunil Benchamin

Sunil Benchamin, for a majority of Indian Football fans, is an unknown name. The 32-year-old from Kerala has not plied a lot of his trade in professional football. However, the experienced defender has played for professional clubs in the last couple of seasons.

In the 2023/24 season, Benchamin played for TRAU FC in the I League. Clocking 1452 minutes in the season, he was an important part of TRAU’s defense. Following his stint with the Manipur club, Benchamin played for Diamond Harbour last season. He played a crucial role in the promotion of the club from I League 3 to I League 2 and finally to I League.

Sunil Benchamin predominantly plays as a centre back but also can switch roles and shoulder the responsibility as a full-back. He has been a constant name in the Army Red’s roster in the last few Durand Cup editions. The defender has played 16 Durand Cup matches across five editions, starting from the 2018/19 season.

Khalid Jamil open to experimentation

Khalid Jamil, with his first selection as the national team coach, has expressed his intentions to experiment and make decisions in the best interest of the team. He has taken some bold calls while announcing his first probables list. Sunil Benchamin’s call-up is one of those bold calls that took many by surprise.

However, not just the inclusions of some fresh faces but the exclusion of some big players have also made headlines. Not including the most capped Indian player, Sunil Chhetri, was a call that turned some heads.

Besides Sunil, he has also not included names like Subhasish Bose and Brandon Fernandes. It remains to be seen whether Jamil integrates them in the future or goes with the current setup for the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. Whether these decisions go in his favour or not, one can expect Jamil to continue surprising us with his instinctive calls that don’t always align with the popular opinion.

Indian Football team list of probables for the camp

Goalkeepers: Vishal Kaith (Mohun Bagan Super Giant), Albino Gomes (Jamshedpur FC), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru FC), Amrinder Singh (Odisha FC), Hritik Tiwari (FC Goa)

Defenders: Anwar Ali (East Bengal), Jeakson Singh (East Bengal), Akash Mishra (Mumbai City FC), Sandesh Jhingan (FC Goa), Rahul Bheke (Bengaluru FC), Chinglensana Singh (Bengaluru FC), Valpuia (Mumbai City FC), Alex Saji (Hyderabad FC), Naorem Roshan Singh (Bengaluru FC), Boris Singh (FC Goa), Sunil Benchamin

Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa (Mohun Bagan Super Giant), Lalengmawia Ralte (Mohun Bagan Super Giant), Sahal Abdul Samad (Mohun Bagan Super Giant), Suresh Singh Wangjam (Bengaluru FC), Udanta Singh (FC Goa), Danish Farooq Bhat (Kerala Blasters), Mahesh Singh Naorem (East Bengal), Deepak Tangri (Mohun Bagan Super Giant)

Forwards: Manvir Singh (Mohun Bagan Super Giant), Lallianzuala Chhangte (Mumbai City FC), Rahim Ali (Odisha FC), Rahul KP (Odisha FC), Irfan Yadwad (Chennaiyin FC), Vikram Pratap Singh (Mumbai City FC), Jithin MS (NorthEast United FC), Ashique Kuruniyan (Bengaluru FC), Liston Colaco (Mohun Bagan Super Giant), Manvir Singh (Jamshedpur FC)

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