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India will begin their King's Cup campaign against Curacao at the Chang Arena in Buriram on Wednesday. This will also be India's first international match under new head coach Igor Stimac, who took over the reins from Stephen Constantine.
It will be a stern test for the Indian football team as the ISL and I-League clubs are in the off-season and the players aren't in the peak. Eredivisie, where 13 of the 23 Curacao players play, got over only in the second week of May whereas the Thai League and V. League 1 are underway.
Surprisingly, none of the players selected in the Indian team are contracted to the I-League clubs. Salam Ranjan Singh (East Bengal) was included in the initial 37-member squad but was released thereafter. Jobby Justin and Anwar Ali (Jr.) played in the I-League last season but couldn't make the cut.
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Amarjit Singh Kiyam remains the only player to have not played in the ISL last season and make it to the King's Cup final squad. However, he will don Jamshedpur FC's jersey this season as his developmental stint with Indian Arrows is over.
#5 NorthEast United FC- 0
The Highlanders remain the only ISL club to not contribute a single player to the Indian football team for their King's Cup sojourn. For the 2019 Asian Cup, Rowllin Borges was their sole representative but Mumbai City FC roped him in the summer transfer window.
Redeem Tlang was the only Northeast United FC player to make it to the initial 37-member squad. But, the Shillong-born winger was released from the national camp in the first batch of players.
#4 Chennaiyin FC-1
Only one Chennaiyin FC player has made it to India's squad for the King's Cup and, it is none other than their charismatic Anirudh Thapa.
The 21-year-old played a pivotal part in India's first two matches in the AFC Asian Cup and was instrumental in Chennaiyin's Super Cup and AFC Cup campaign.
Igor Stimac also wanted to include Jerry Lalrinzuala and Jeje Lalpekhlua in the national camp but injuries sustained to them acted as a barrier.
#3 Jamshedpur FC, FC Pune City, Delhi Dynamos, Kerala Blasters- 2
Next up is the quartet of Jamshedpur FC, FC Pune City, Delhi Dynamos, and Kerala Blasters who have contributed two players each.
Amarjit Singh Kiyam and Farukh Choudhary are Jamshedpur's representative and they would be poised to play in Thailand. While this is Amarjit's first senior team call-up, Farukh has been in and out of the team since 2018 SAFF Championships.
FC Pune City has sent Kamaljit Singh and Adil Khan. Like Amarjit, this is Kamaljit's first national team call-up but he might not make his debut as Gurpreet and Amrinder will provide tough competition to him. Adil Khan, on the other hand, made three appearances for India in 2012 and could feature in the starting line-up.
The duo of Vinit Rai and Lallianzuala Chhangte played for Delhi Dynamos in the ISL and has made it to India's squad again. Both Vinit and Chhangte represented India from the junior teams and it remains to be seen if they can have the same impact on the senior national team.
Kerala Blasters' representatives in the King's Cup squad are Sandesh Jhingan and Sahal Abdul Samad. While Jhingan is a perennial face in India's line-up, Sahal might make his debut for India against Curacao after a highly impressive ISL campaign.
#2 FC Goa, Mumbai City FC- 3
Mumbai City FC and FC Goa have three of their players selected in the Indian national team squad. Both the clubs finished inside the top four in the ISL and it shows that they have done a commendable job in grooming Indian players.
Jackichand and Manvir have made the cut for India's 23-member squad numerous times but came on the field mainly as substitutes.
Despite it being Brandon Fernandes' first senior team call-up, he has a higher chance of making it to the playing eleven as an attacking midfielder and set-piece specialist.
The three Mumbai City FC players who made it to India's squad are- Amrinder Singh, Subhasish Bose, and Raynier Fernandes.
Amrinder has been playing second fiddle to Gurpreet for a long time in the goalkeeping department but Subhasish is a regular in the left-back position. This is Raynier's first senior team call-up and he would be eager to make the most out of it.
#1 Bengaluru FC, ATK- 4
Having the most number of players in the national team are the ISL champions Bengaluru FC and former two-time champions ATK. Both of them have four players under their contract and the number could have risen to five if Nishu Kumar and Jobby Justin weren't axed in the last moment.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is India's #1 for a long time and the opposition should have a hard time going past him. Rahul Bheke might make his debut after being constantly ignored by the previous manager Stephen Constantine.
Apart from these two big names in Indian football, Bengaluru FC also has Sunil Chhetri and Udanta Singh in their ranks, on whom everyone will be keeping an eye.
ATK also has four names in their team and all of them are established names in Indian football.
Pritam Kotal, Pronay Halder, and Balwant Singh have loads of international experience under their belt whereas this is Michael Soosairaj's first national team call-up after mesmerizing everyone with his drib
