Three India players who could face 'Last Chance Saloon' under Khalid Jamil in crucial friendlies

The Blue Tigers will play Panama, Brazil & Uruguay in the September-October FIFA international window.

India are gearing up to take part in three huge, friendly matches in the September-October international window against FIFA World Cup oppositions. The Blue Tigers will first host Panama, before two blockbuster ties against five-time FIFA World Cup champions Brazil as well as two-time FIFA World Cup winners Uruguay.

This will be a massive test for the Indian players to show the world how competitive they can be against challenging opposition in the international football scene.

Khalid Jamil has selected what he deems to be his strongest squad – which involves a nice balance of experienced players as well as up-and-coming young talents. While many players will treat the friendly as a way of gaining experience of how it feels to play against world-class players, for a few individuals – it could be a way of saving their futures in the India squad under Khalid Jamil.

There are a few notable Indian players who have been chosen because of their experience and will be expected to perform at their best in these friendlies.

These players haven’t been the most convincing under Jamil’s reign so far and have more room for better performances to properly convince the gaffer.

Hence, here we look at the three India players potentially facing a ‘last chance saloon’ situation in the upcoming friendlies.

Ashique Kuruniyan

Ashique Kuruniyan has earned a call-up to Khalid Jamil’s squad for the second time in 2026, after also featuring in the 2-1 win over Hong Kong in the final game of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The Bengaluru FC winger had a decent 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign in which he scored three goals for the Blues, being a thorn in their wide areas.

But it’s time for the 29-year-old winger to produce better numbers for the India national team. Kuruniyan has only scored two goals for India in his career, which began in 2018. The last time he scored for them was in a 1-1 draw against Singapore in September (2022).

He’s without a goal or assist for India in well over 10 appearances, be it operating as a winger or even as a second-striker. Whether Kuruniyan gets to start all three matches or not is uncertain, but he needs to prove himself capable of being a nuisance for the opposition defenders.

He needs to make better use of his direct forward runs to get the ball into the danger zones. But Ashique needs to, most importantly, nail his final crosses as well as shooting accuracy to bring something special to the India frontline and prove himself capable of being a valuable future option for the Blue Tigers.

Irfan Yadwad

Irfan Yadwad has returned to the India squad for the first time since featuring in the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup, where he produced a string of forgettable performances as India’s no. 9.

He couldn’t score in any of India’s four matches in that tournament, causing him to be sidelined from the national team for a long time. Now, one year later, he’s back in contention to feature for India in their huge, friendly matches. Yadwad has made seven appearances for the Blue Tigers in his career but has zero goal contributions to show for it.

He can’t really expect to start all three friendlies and is likely to be used in an impact substitute role, after having scored twice in the 2025-26 ISL campaign.

Yadwad, however, needs to significantly raise his unpredictability in the frontline to win over his coach. The Chennaiyin FC forward needs to be assertive with his attacking work, proving himself as someone who can get past defenders easily and find the ball in the danger zones.

Most importantly, Irfan must finish off whatever chances that come his way clinically and at least test the opposition goalkeepers sharply to prove he can bring something different to India’s matches in big games and can be an asset in Jamil’s system.

Manvir Singh

Khalid Jamil is aware that he’ll need to rely on experienced players for his India side to be able to cope with the intensity of the friendlies against sides like Brazil, Uruguay and Panama. That is probably why he has recalled Manvir Singh back into his squad.

The Mohun Bagan forward was unable to feature in India’s last four friendlies in May/June because of certain issues, but he did bag an assist in India’s win over Hong Kong in March (2026).

Singh is coming off a pretty good Durand Cup campaign and Calcutta Football League title win. Manvir will look to keep up his good form at the international level, where he faces a significant spike in challenge.

Singh has scored seven goals in 49 caps for India, but the upcoming matches are a way for him consolidate a strong place in Jamil’s squad.

He can do that if able to trouble the opposition defenders with his clever off-the-ball movement ability and ability to strongly contest in duels as well.

Of course, the Mohun Bagan player has to be accurate with his crosses and shots on goal to elevate India’s attacking threat – but Jamil will probably closely monitor his duel-winning skills and ability to cope under intense pressure. If Manvir can take the fight to the opponents, he can strengthen his hold in the India squad – but a few disappointing performances can be a really bad sign for his national team future.

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