Indian men’s football team will be without captain Sunil Chhetri for the King’s Cup tournament in Thailand as head coach Igor Stimac named a 23-member squad for the tournament that will be held in Thailand from September 7-10. 

The All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) haven’t mentioned a reason for Chhetri not being included in the squad for the King’s Cup in the official release but India will go in with a strong squad for the tournament. 

India (ranked 99th) will face Iraq (ranked 70th) in the semi-final on September 7 at 16:00 IST at the 700th Anniversary Stadium. Hosts Thailand (ranked 113th) take on Lebanon (ranked 100th) in the other semi-final at 19:00 IST on the same day.

The semi-final winners will contest the final on September 10, while the losers will play the third-place play-off.

India won bronze when they last participated in the King's Cup in 2019.

Here is the full India squad for the King’s Cup 2023: 

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh.

Defenders: Asish Rai, Nikhil Poojary, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh, Lalchungnunga, Akash Mishra, Subhasish Bose.

Midfielders: Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Brandon Fernandes, Sahal Abdul Samad, Anirudh Thapa, Rohit Kumar, Ashique Kuruniyan, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte.

Forwards: Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Rahul KP.

Head coach: Igor Stimac.