New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) Former skipper and veteran goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was sidelined, while key defender Anwar Ali

New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) Former skipper and veteran goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was sidelined, while key defender Anwar Ali

New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) Former skipper and veteran goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was sidelined, while key defender Anwar Ali

    New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) Former skipper and veteran goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was sidelined, while key defender Anwar Ali was ruled out with a hamstring injury as head coach Khalid Jamil on Friday named a 23-member Indian squad for the upcoming international friendlies against New Zealand.

    Anwar's injury (Grade 1 hamstring) is a setback for India as the East Bengal defender could be sidelined for more than a month.

    Lalengmawia Ralte (Apuia) and Mohammed Sanan have also been ruled out due to injuries.

    The omission of Gurpreet comes after his disappointing outing in India's 0-4 defeat against Brazil.

    The Blue Tigers will face the All Whites on November 12 at the Go Media Stadium in Auckland at 11.30 am IST and on November 15 at the One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch at 8.30 am IST.

    The squad also features three players from Naushad Moosa's SAFF Championship squad — Bijoy Varghese, Muhammad Suhail and Liston Colaco. They will leave the tournament in Dhaka to join Jamil's squad for the New Zealand tour.

    Meanwhile, Farukh Choudhary, Noufal PN and Hmingthanmawia Ralte have been released from the SAFF Championship squad and will return to their club, Mumbai City FC. Ronney Kharbudon will also miss the trip to Dhaka due to injury.

    The New Zealand-bound squad will assemble in Bengaluru on Saturday and train on Sunday before departing for Auckland later that night.

    "New Zealand are also a World Cup-playing nation and a strong opponent, and these two matches will be a good test for us away from home. We want to prepare well, play with discipline and use this opportunity to improve as a team," Jamil said.

    India squad

    =========

    Goalkeepers: Hrithik Tiwari, Som Kumar, Vishal Kaith.

    Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Bijoy Varghese, Jay Gupta, Mehtab Singh, Pramveer, Ricky Meetei Haobam, Roshan Singh Naorem.

    Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ashique Kuruniyan, Jithin MS, Lalremtluanga Fanai, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Tomba Singh Haobam.

    Forwards: David Lalhlansanga, Edmund Lalrindika, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Muhammad Suhail, Ryan Williams.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)