Three East Bengal players join national camp for CAFA Nations Cup

Bengaluru, Aug 22 (PTI) The East Bengal trio of Anwar Ali, Naorem Mahesh Singh, and Jeakson Singh Thounaojam on Friday joined the national camp for the CAFA Nations Cup, taking the total strength of players at the disposal of newly-appointed head coach Khalid Jamil to 28.

The trio joined the national camp after East Bengal lost their Durand Cup semifinal match on Wednesday.

"Anwar Ali, Naorem Mahesh Singh, and Jeakson Singh Thounaojam have joined the Indian senior men's national team squad ahead of their CAFA Nations Cup 2025 campaign today," the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Friday.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant refused to release their seven players -- Anirudh Thapa, Deepak Tangri, Lalengmawia Ralte, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Vishal Kaith -- on the ground that it was not mandatory to do that since the tournament was not being held in the FIFA international window.

The Kolkata giants did not release their players despite bowing out of the Durand Cup on August 17.

Jamil had named 35 players for the national camp which began here with 22 of them on August 16. Jamshedpur FC players Manvir Singh and Albino Gomes -- who were in the original 35 -- as well as new addition Muhammed Uvais from Punjab FC joined the camp on Monday.

Jithin MS is the lone NorthEast United player called up for the national camp and his club has made it to the Durand Cup final to be played on Saturday.

There are four first-timers in Jamil's current camp of 28 players -- defenders Alex Saji, Sunil Benchamin, Muhammed Uvais, and forward Manvir Singh.

Placed in Group B of the CAFA Nations Cup, India face co-host Tajikistan on August 29 in Hisor, Iran on September 1 and Afghanistan on September 4. The third-place match and the final will be played on September 8 in Hisor and Tashkent (Uzbekistan), respectively. PTI PDS PDS AH AH