Indian men’s football team head coach Igor Stimac has named the final squad for the upcoming Hero Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship on Saturday, the AIFF announced. 

Having picked an initial 41-member squad, the Croatian has trimmed the squad for the upcoming tournaments that will serve as a preparation for the AFC Asian Cup in January in Qatar. 

The Blue Tigers have been drawn alongside Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria in the Asian Cup. 

Goalkeeper Vishal Kaith, defender Naorem Roshan Singh, midfielder Glan Martins and forward Manvir Singh have missed out on the final squad due to injuries. 

Apart from the quartet, the other players to miss the cut are Narender Gahlot, Chinglensana Singh, Asish Rai, Yasir Mohammad, Ritwik Das, Rahul KP, Bipin Singh, Vikram Partap Singh, Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Sivasakthi Narayanan. 

India will participate in the Hero Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar where they will face Lebanon, Vanuatu and Mongolia from June 9-18 before playing the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru from June 21 to July 4. 

Stimac’s men have been drawn into Group A alongside Nepal, Kuwait and Pakistan. The other competing teams are Lebanon, Maldives, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Here is the final 27-member squad:

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh and Phurba Lachenpa Tempa.

Defenders: Subhasish Bose, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra, Mehtab Singh and Rahul Bheke.

Midfielders: Liston Colaco, Ashique Kuruniyan, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Rohit Kumar, Udanta Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Jeakson Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Lalengmawia Ralte, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Rowllin Borges and Nandha Kumar.

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Rahim Ali and Ishan Pandita.

Head Coach: Igor Stimac.