Carlos thumbs up for national duty during ISL

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) named a 22-man squad for the two upcoming away 2018 World Cup qualifying games on October 8 and 13 against Turkmenistan and Oman respectively. The players have been asked to report to Mumbai on October 4, a day after the start of the Indian Super League (ISL) second edition.

ISL organisers originally refused to release the players, all of whom are attached to various ISL teams. The AIFF later said an agreement to release players has been reached.

Carlos said he would release Robin Singh, Sehnaj Singh and Francis Fernandes to play for India.

“The players who play for Delhi Dynamos have to represent the country. It is important for the national squad. I will never say no to the national squad,” Carlos told a news conference.

According to FIFA rules, a club is supposed to release a player for national duty four days ahead of the country’s match.

The squad: Subrata Paul, Karanjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Arnab Mondal, Sandesh Jhingan, Aiborlang Khongjee, Dhanachandra Singh, Lalchhuanmawia, Narayan Das, Rino Anto, Pritam Kotal, Eugenson Lyngdoh, Cavin Lobo, Sehnaj Singh, Jackichand Singh, Pronoy Halder, Francis Fernandes, Rowlin Borges, Bikash Jairu, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri.