Three things Khalid Jamil should change in Indian football team after Bangladesh setback

Under Khalid Jamil, India failed to win a match in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.

The Indian football team hit a new low under Khalid Jamil by suffering a 1-0 loss to Bangladesh in their recent AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifier clash. The Blue Tigers had no answer to Sheikh Morsalin’s early goal as they played poor attacking football and looked absolutely useless in the attacking phase.

It was quite clear that many aspects of the Indian football team’s approach desperately need altering for better results in 2026. A lot of the things that Jamil has tried out in his first few matches as the Blue Tigers’ head coach don’t work, and unless he’s ready to change things, results are unlikely to change.

He needs to address some of the major issues with their team and system, and replace them with things that will be more effective in such tough international matches. With that being said, now we look at the three things Khalid Jamil needs to change for the Blue Tigers in 2026.

3. Stop the reliance on long throws

Under Khalid Jamil, India’s first few goals were highly influenced by dangerous long throws in the 2-1 win over Tajikistan. That almost seemingly gave encouragement to the coach that long throws can be the go-to option for the Blue Tigers to score scrappy goals in an international match. Unfortunately, that tactic goes stale after a point in time, and the Bangladesh game proved that.

The Blue Tigers tried hard, making Rahul Bheke try his best in delivering long throws to the physical players to try and convert in the box. Not only did it fail, but India also conceded a goal due to a counter-attack after an attempted long throw.

Jamil needs to realize that the Indian players aren’t aerially dominant enough to win the duels from long throws and create chances on the majority of occasions.

He needs to give up his obsession with taking long throws, return to a normal throw-in routine, and motivate his players to improve their link-up play to create genuine chances. Unless he changes his long-throw tactics, more frustration is in store for the Blue Tigers because of how predictable that particular tactic really is.

2. Let the players play in their natural roles

Khalid Jamil almost seems to be trying to fit all the highly experienced Indian players into his lineup by hook or by crook, irrespective of the impact it has on the team’s shape. That is why Rahul Bheke has continued operating as a right-back for India, even though he’s transitioned into a centre-back for many years.

Jamil played Lallianzuala Chhangte as a left-winger against Bangladesh, which resulted in a bland performance. Even Macarton Nickson looked uncomfortable in a No. 10 role, mostly because he’s not accustomed to that position.

Jamil played Mohammad Sanan on the right wing in the second half against Bangladesh, despite performing well on the left wing.

This experimentation of playing individuals out of their natural positions and hoping for them to thrive needs to end. Jamil needs to select his players based on how well they can operate in the natural roles they play for their clubs. Playing individuals out of position hampers the overall quality of the Indian team and results in silly mistakes, which then cause frustrating results.

1. Integrate more young talents into the starting XI

The loss to Bangladesh made it quite obvious that it’s high time that India looks past some of the ‘senior members’ of the squad. Considering how well the India U23 players have performed, there is no harm in including them in the senior team for the Blue Tigers.

Jamil needs to stop blindly relying on those with international experience and start building for the future by giving regular playing time to some of the brightest young talents in Indian football. The likes of Muhammed Suhail, Mohammed Sanan, Pramveer, Vibin Mohanan, and Suhail Bhat are definitely among the names who deserve bigger roles with the Blue Tigers in 2026.

More than anything else, Jamil needs to help build up their experience in international football and let them play their natural football to at least bring a sense of fight and positive energy into the Blue Tigers’ game. The Indian team will have to start trusting young talent to come out of this difficult situation and get better results in the future.

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