Indian football: Igor Stimac releases second batch of six players from King's Cup preparatory camp
The final list of 23 players will be announced prior to the departure to Buriram, Thailand.
Published : May 30, 2019 14:54 IST
Indian senior men's national team coach Igor Stimac released a second batch of six players from the ongoing preparatory camp in New Delhi on Thursday, ahead of the King's Cup in Thailand next week.
The released players included defenders Narayan Das, Salam Ranjan Singh, Anwar Ali, midfielders Dhanpal Ganesh, Rowllin Borges and winger Komal Thatal. Ali was released owing to an injury.
On May 27, the first batch of six players was released. Those included goalkeeper Vishal Kaith, midfielders Germanpreet Singh, Nandha Kumar, Redeem Tlang, Bikramjit Singh and forward Sumeet Passi.
READ | Igor Stimac releases first batch of six players from King's Cup preparatory camp
The final 23-man squad will be announced prior to departure to Buriram.
Stimac, whose first match as the Indian coach will be on June 5 versus Curacao, said that it is "always difficult for the coach to take hard decisions and release players".
“The hardest part of the job comes when decisions are to be done about releasing some of them after the hard work they put in for the past ten days,” he said.
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“We are more than happy with the commitment of the players so far and have really enjoyed working with them every day,” he added. “They are passionate, excited and are making obvious progress on a daily basis."
The Indian team will be leaving for Buriram en route Bangkok on June 2 from New Delhi.
Host Thailand will take on Vietnam in the other match on the same day India takes on Curacao. The winners of both the matches will qualify for the final, while the other two teams will play the third-place playoff on June 8.
The final will be played on June 8 at 6.15 pm IST.