Five notable omissions from India squad for New Zealand friendlies
Khalid Jamil has named a 23-man India squad that will assemble in Bengaluru on Saturday, November 7, before travelling to Auckland for two friendlies against New Zealand during the upcoming international break. Several established players were left out of both India squads as selectors balanced the New Zealand fixtures with the SAFF Championship 2026 window.
Jamil will take the 23-man group to face New Zealand, who are FIFA World Cup 2026 participants, with the New Zealand-bound squad set to hold a training session on Sunday and depart for Auckland later that night. Because the SAFF Championship 2026 is being played in the same window, the federation has split opportunities across two squads and handed chances to new names.
Goalkeeping positions produced surprise omissions: Bengaluru FC’s Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was not included despite starting for India against Panama, Brazil, and Uruguay in the last international break. The 34-year-old had been Khalid Jamil’s preferred first-choice keeper since his appointment, starting Gurpreet in all the games since, but was not picked to travel Down Under. Fellow goalkeepers Prabhsukhan Gill and Albino Gomes, who made cameos against Brazil and Uruguay, were also not called up for the New Zealand matches.
Defence suffered a setback with Anwar Ali unavailable after picking up an injury in the 2-0 loss to Al-Seeb while playing in the AFC Champions League Two on Tuesday. The 26-year-old East Bengal centre-back, who “has shown virtue beyond his age while playing for India,” had made 15 defensive contributions against Brazil and Uruguay alone and was therefore absent for selection.
With Anwar Ali injured, Khalid Jamil’s decision not to recall Sandesh Jhingan attracted attention. The FC Goa captain has won 20 duels and made 27 defensive contributions in 4 ISL games in the 2026-27 season, has 77 appearances for the Blue Tigers and is 33 years old; the article notes his experience and recent form but he was not included.
Midfield selection left out Sahal Abdul Samad, the 29-year-old who played all three games in the last international break and whose best display arguably came against Brazil. The piece records that Sahal "has played just 127 games across four ISL games this season," has created 6 chances across the games and has made 9 recoveries for his club, and that reduced club minutes combined with the emergence of Lalrinliana Hnamte contributed to his omission.
Two further midfield absences were Apuia and Sanan. Apuia, 26, had an assist in the 2-1 win against SC Delhi but has not featured for his club since due to injury; the report states that if he keeps fit, "expect Apuia to walk back into the Indian setup in the next set of matches in March." The 22-year-old Sanan, who featured for India in the last international window after joining Kerala Blasters over the summer, has not been picked this time and the article adds that Khalid Jamil will "keep a keen eye on the youngster’s performances over the next few months."
The selected 23-man squad will travel to Auckland for the two friendlies against New Zealand, with the team assembling in Bengaluru on November 7, undertaking a training session on Sunday and departing for Auckland later that night.