It was homecoming of sorts as Nepal-born defender Abneet Bharti joined the Indian senior men's team camp in Kochi ahead of the AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong, the AIFF said on Wednesday, a day after Ryan Williams was named in the squad for the same fixture.
The 27-year-old had joined the Kochi-based ISL side, Kerala Blasters, in 2019, but did not make a senior team appearance. He left the next year.
India now have two foreign-based players in the camp for the first time – Bharti and 32-year-old winger Williams who got his Indian passport recently. The latter had missed the Bangladesh match as FIFA did not clear his name on time. The Bengaluru FC player is now set for his India debut against Hong Kong on March 31.
However Bharti is still awaiting FIFA clearance, without which he cannot make his debut. India are already out of contention for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.
With the Blue Tigers looking to build the side with an eye for the future, they seem to be looking at Bharti to replace veteran Sandesh Jhingan in the centre-back position, alongside Anwar Ali, once he gets the clearance. He also plays as a right-back and defensive midfielder, as per reports.
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Head coach Khalid Jamil is likely to assess him in the camp ahead of the Hong Kong match.
Born in Nepal, Bharti started as a goalkeeper during his school days in Nigeria before taking up a defender’s role after returning to India, where he played for BGS International School and Shastri FC. His performances earned him a call-up to the Delhi state youth team and to the India U-16 camp.
He moved to Singapore to train with Geylang International (2012–2013). In 2014, he moved to Spain and trained with the youth setup of La Liga club Real Valladolid. He also underwent training stints with German clubs like Eintracht Frankfurt, 1860 Munich, Anderlecht and Darmstadt 98.
Bharti turned professional with Poland's Podbeskidzie in 2015 and went on to play in Portugal for Sintrense between 2017 and 2019.
A potential move to Mexican club America was cut short due to a serious knee injury. He returned to India with Kerala Blasters, but the stint did not work out.
Since then, he has played in the Czech Republic and had loan spells in Kyrgyzstan, Panama, Argentina. In early 2025, he signed with the Bolivian Primera División outfit Academia del Balompié Boliviano - ABB (Bolivia).
