No Jhinghan among India probables for Intercontinental Cup, Kiyan Nassiri named as new face

NEW DELHI: Influential centre-back Sandesh Jhingan's name was missing as Chennaiyin FC forward Kiyan Nassiri, son of East Bengal's Iranian legend Jamshid, on Wednesday inched closer to his maiden India selection after being named among new head coach Manolo Marquez's 26 probables for the Intercontinental Cup preparatory camp.

Mohun Bagan SG right-back Ashish Rai and East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, who are yet to play for the senior India team, also received call-ups for the camp in preparation for the three-team annual tournament that will be held from September 3-9 in Hyderabad.

It is understood that key defender Jhingan, who sustained a right knee injury during India's Asian Cup group match against Syria in January, is yet to recover from the injury.

Jhingan, the 31-year-old central defender, also missed out on selection for the team's camp ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 preliminary joint qualification round 2 matches against Kuwait and Qatar, in May.

Syria, placed 93rd in the latest FIFA rankings and Mauritius, who stand at 179, are the other two teams in the competition. India are currently ranked 124th. The preparatory camp will start in Hyderabad from August 31.

The fourth edition of the Intercontinental Cup will be the first full tournament after the retirement of the legendary Sunil Chhetri and the first assignment for Marquez who was named India head coach last month. India have won the tournament twice in the past.

The 23-year-old Kiyan, who grew up in Kolkata and whose mother was born and brought up in Shillong, has been excelling upfront while playing for Indian Super League side Chennaiyin FC.

His father has been an East Bengal legend and currently lives in Kolkata, having represented the Iranian U-20 team in the 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Announcing the probables, Marquez said: "We are very excited about our first preparatory camp and I know it will be the same for the players.

"We face two different teams and the rankings are not very important. We need to work all together in the same direction to find the correct group of players and their predisposition will be very good, something I am completely sure about.

"I know all of us are in pre-season with nice challenges in front of us. Is a big honour to wear the jersey of the national team and we need to show it for all our fans."

The list of probables:

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh, Amrinder Singh, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill.

Defenders: Nikhil Poojary, Rahul Bheke, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Roshan Singh Naorem, Anwar Ali, Jay Gupta, Ashish Rai, Subhasish Bose, Mehtab Singh.

Midfielders: Suresh Singh Wangjam, Jeakson Singh, Nandhakumar Sekar, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Yasir Mohammad, Lalengmawia Ralte, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Lalthathanga Khawlhring.

Forwards: Kiyan Nassiri Giri, Edmund Lalrindika, Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco.

Intercontinental Cup fixtures (all matches will kick-off at 7.30 pm):

September 3: India vs Mauritius

September 6: Syria vs Mauritius

September 9: India vs Syria.