Indian squad announced for friendly matches against New Zealand; Gurpreet Singh out

Indian football team head coach Khalid Jamil has announced a 23-player squad for the two friendly matches to be played against New Zealand on 12 and 15 November. According to a report by Sportsstar, goalkeeper and captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has not been included in the squad.

The announced squad includes three players who are currently playing in the SAFF Championship 2026. These players include Bijoy Verghese, Muhammad Suhail, and Liston Colaco. These players will leave the tournament from Dhaka and join the team directly to travel to New Zealand.

The Indian team will assemble in Bengaluru on 7 November for training and will subsequently travel to New Zealand. Both matches will be played at the Go Media Stadium in Auckland and the One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch. Coach Khalid Jamil stated that New Zealand is a World Cup-playing nation and a strong opponent. These two matches will be a good challenge for India away from home. They want to use the opportunity to prepare well, play with discipline, and improve as a team.

The Indian national football team represents India in international football. It is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and falls under the global jurisdiction of FIFA. In Asia, it is governed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and in South Asia by SAFF, both of which were co-founded by the AIFF.