Indian football team head coach Igor Stimach on Wednesday said he wants all his players to be fully fit for the World Cup qualifying round match against Bangladesh next month.
India had played out a rare goal-less draw against Qatar in Doha on September 15 in their second match of World Cup qualifiers round 2.
India will take on Bangladesh in their next match on October 15 in Kolkata.
“We still have some uncertainties with small injury problems with few players. The Bangladesh game is going to be very different from the last one against Qatar. We need all the players to be fully fit, and ready for the day,” Stimac said.
The Croat announced a list of 29 probables for a preparatory camp to be held in Guwahati from October 3. The match against Bangladesh will be played at the YBK Stadium in Kolkata on October 15.
The list will be further pruned down to 25 at the end of this week.
Midfielder Amarjit Singh Kiyam continued to be absent as he is recovering from an elbow injury. He had missed the game against Oman, which India had lost 1-2 and the drawn match against Qatar.
{{/usCountry}}Midfielder Amarjit Singh Kiyam continued to be absent as he is recovering from an elbow injury. He had missed the game against Oman, which India had lost 1-2 and the drawn match against Qatar.
{{/usCountry}}“I hope that YBK will be packed and our supporters in Kolkata will push our players all the way to help us register our first victory in qualifiers,” he said.
India squad
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Kamaljit Singh.
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Nishu Kumar, Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan, Adil Khan, Narender, Sarthak Golui, Anas Edathodika, Anwar Ali (Jr.), Mandar Rao Dessai, Subhasish Bose, Jerry Lalrinzuala.
Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Vinit Rai, Anirudh Thapa, Abdul Sahal, Raynier Fernandes, Brandon Fernandes, Halicharan Narzary, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan.
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Balwant Singh, Manvir Singh, Farukh Choudhary.