4 Malayalis earn India call-ups for Brazil game

Indian men's football team coach Khalid Jamil has named a 26-member squad for India's upcoming matches during the FIFA international window, with four Malayalis earning a place in the squad.

Midfielders Sahal Abdul Samad, Ashique Kuruniyan and Mohammed Sanan, along with defender Bijoy Varghese, have earned call-ups for the much-awaited games.

India are set to face Panama, Brazil and Uruguay in a series of high-profile friendlies.

Sahal and Ashique are familiar names in India's starting lineup.

Sanan, an exciting left winger, earned his first call-up to the national team last year and has since played four games. The Malappuram native currently plays for Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League.

Bijoy, the 26-year-old from Pulluvila in Thiruvananthapuram, currently plays for Punjab FC. He made his national team debut in March this year and has since featured in three games.

Ashique plays for Bengaluru FC, while Sahal is a Mohun Bagan player.

India will take on Panama on September 26 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru before travelling to Kolkata to face five-time world champions Brazil on October 3 and two-time world champions Uruguay on October 6.

All three opponents featured at the FIFA World Cup earlier this year, providing India with a stern test against higher-ranked opposition as Jamil looks to assess his squad ahead of the team's upcoming assignments.

The national camp will begin in Bengaluru on September 14, with the team scheduled to travel to Kolkata on September 28 following the Panama game.

The three-match series will be a major test for Jamil's young side, particularly against Brazil and Uruguay, two of the most decorated teams in international football.

Indian squad
Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Som Kumar.
Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Anwar Ali, Bijoy Varghese, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Jay Gupta, Pramveer, Ricky Meetei Haobam.
Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ashique Kuruniyan, Farukh Choudhary, Lalengmawia Ralte, Macarton Nickson, Mohammed Sanan, Ricky Shabong, Sahal Abdul Samad.
Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Irfan Yadwad, Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Ryan Williams, Vikram Partap Singh.