An Indian starting XI comprises of players who were not call for the Asian Cup 2019 Qualifiers Camp.

by Shaon Roy March 2, 2017

Stephen Constantine recently announced a 31 member probable squad for the Asian Cup 2019 qualifiers.  The squad member will assemble in Mumbai to take part in a preparatory camp which will be held from 12th March to 18th March and then the team will fly to Cambodia to play an international friendly match.

The team selection by Constantine created an outcry among the Indian football fans.  Many of them are questioning the inclusion of players like Sumit Passi, Md.Rafique and Holicharan Narzary in the team whereas the other half were shocked to not see players like Jayesh Rane, Souvik Chakraborty in the probable list.

So, we at FootballCounter decided to form an Indian starting XI with players who were not included in the 31 Men India squad.  

FORWARD- In this position, we choose Balwant Singh who has got more goals in I-League in this season than Holicharan Narzary, Sumit Passi and Daniel.

MIDFIELD- Both Jayesh Rane and Kean Lewis were favourites to make the Indian side but I guess Constantine had other plans. Though, an injury might be the reason why Kean Lewis was omitted from the squad. But why Jayesh Rane was not included in the team who is having a dream run in this I-League season, could only be answered by Constantine himself. He and Brandon both were instrumental for Aizawl FC and is one of the reasons why they are in the 3rd position in the league table. Lalrindika Ralte coming off from a year long injury has certainly impressed the most of us Indian football fans and was even captain of the East Bengal side during the famous Kolkata Derby. Mandar Rao Desai may not be in his best of form but a player of his class can never be ignored.

DEFENCE: Our defence looks good enough to tackle teams like Kyrgyzstan and Macau. All the four of our defenders- Souvik Chakraborty, Prabir Das, Sena Ralte and M.Wadoo had an exceptional ISL season. Souvik received several praises from Delhi Dynamos boss Zambrotta for his superb defensive abilities on the right back position. Prabir Das too had great success in the wing-back position when he played for Atletico Kolkata. Sena Ralte also has proved himself time and again in the Left back position for both Mumbai City FC and Bengaluru FC. Mehrajuddin Wadoo was the most capped player for ChennaiyinFC , this season. This tells you volume about the form Wadoo was in during the ISL3.

GOALKEEPER: Though we have some big names in the team with the likes of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh and Subrata Pal but still a player of Debjit’s stature can never be ignored.

Special Mention: Romeo Fernandes,  Lalramchullova,  Albino Gomes and Nirmal Chhetri.

If you think our team is good enough which comprises of players who were not chosen in the 31 men Indian squad then let us know.  If you think we missed to mention someone then also let us know in the comment section.