India's international friendly against China cancelled due to ISL fixtures: Reports

The Indian men's football team was supposed to play an international friendly against China ahead of the upcoming 2023 AFC Asian Cup. However, the game reportedly had to be canceled due to the date clashing with the ongoing 2023-24 edition of the Indian Super League (ISL).

Below is the tweet from the official X handle of one of China's leading newspapers, Titan Sports, confirming that:

"Gulf Heroes was added to China NT's friendly agenda at the last minute. Apart from Oman and China HK, China was planning to play a friendly against India. However, due to the clash with India's domestic league fixture, the plan was canceled by the Indian side."

China recently played two International friendlies at the Baniyas Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - one each against Hong Kong (on January 1) and Oman (on December 29, 2023).

Hong Kong's 2-1 victory turned out to be a historic one as it was their first-ever win over China in 29 years. The other game, against Oman, ended in a 2-0 defeat for China, who are currently ranked 79th in the FIFA Men's World Ranking (as of December 21, 2023).

No international friendlies for the Blue Tigers ahead of 2023 AFC Asian Cup

Much to the surprise and disappointment of the Indian fans, their national team reached Qatar for the AFC Asian Cup without a single international friendly match in the lead-up.

Several higher-ranked participating nations, including Australia, Iraq, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates, have played friendlies recently. The fact that the Blue Tigers didn't get to play even a solitary game could be a matter of concern for them.

The most recent meeting between China and India, the world's two most populous nations, on a football pitch happened during the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. It was a Group A fixture which the hosts won by a huge margin of 5-1.

While Igor Stimac's men crashed out of the tournament after their 2-0 defeat against Saudi Arabia in the Round of 16, China exited on the back of a 2-0 defeat against South Korea. The latter team went on to win the gold medal.