Football: Khalid Jamil explains reason for Sunil Chhetri’s CAFA Nations Cup omission
Chhetri left out of India squad for CAFA Nations Cup
Widely regarded as the best Indian footballer of all time, Sunil Chettri sent Indian football fans into raptures earlier this year when he decided to come out of retirement at the request of the now-departed Manolo Marquez.
However, the legendary striker failed to make a significant impact on the team since rejoining them, and a run of poor results led to Marquez stepping down as the team’s head coach, with Khalid Jamil brought in to steer the team back to some form of stability.
The former Jamshedpur FC manager’s first task is set to come in the form of the CAFA Nations Cup in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan between August 29 and September 8, before the team resumes their AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, with a double-header against Singapore.
In the lead-up to the tournament, Jamil and the national team selection panel assembled a 35-man squad in Bengaluru to begin preparations, but Chettri was somewhat surprisingly omitted from the list of players who were summoned to the training camp.
India have been drawn into Group B of the eight-team competition alongside Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Their first match of the tournament is scheduled for August 29 against the Crowns at the Hisor Central Stadium.
Jamil lifts lid on overlooking Chhetri for CAFA Nations Cup
Unsurprisingly, it did not take long after India’s squad announcement for the CAFA Nations Cup for questions to be raised around Chhetri’s omission, and Jamil responded to them by revealing that his decision was a tactical move rather than a permanent exclusion of the player. He said:
“He is a role model for Indian football, and the door is always open for him. He’s not there in this camp because we are playing a tournament which will essentially serve as a preparation for our Asian Cup Qualifiers. I also want to try out a few other players during this FIFA window. I had a talk with him about the same.”
Chhetri originally made the decision to call time on his international career in 2024. He remains the nation’s all-time highest goal-scorer with 95 in 155 appearances since making his debut for the Blue Tigers in December 2005.
The 41-year-old Bengaluru FC striker sits fourth in the list of men’s footballers with the most international goals globally, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Iranian legend Ali Daei.
