Now Reading: India name 23-man squad for New Zealand friendlies, Gurpreet dropped
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India name 23-man squad for New Zealand friendlies, Gurpreet dropped
The Story in Brief
India head coach Khalid Jamil on Friday, 6 November 2026, named a 23-player squad for two friendlies against New Zealand on 12 November and 15 November. The squad includes three players drawn from the SAFF Championship squad: Bijoy Varghese, Muhammad Suhail and Liston Colaco, who will leave Dhaka to join the New Zealand tour. The Indian Express and India Today note that veteran goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has been dropped.
The squad assembles in Bengaluru on 7 November and departs for Auckland that night. Jamil said New Zealand, a World Cup-playing nation ranked 88th, will be a strong test for India, ranked 138th, away from home. The matches are India's first senior outings since friendlies against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay. Khel Now and Hindustan Times also report that Farukh Choudhary, Noufal PN and Hmingthanmawia Ralte have been released from the SAFF squad to return to Mumbai City FC, and Ronney Kharbudon misses out due to injury.
Update, 6 November 2026: Khel Now and Hindustan Times add details that Farukh Choudhary, Noufal PN and Hmingthanmawia Ralte have been released from the SAFF Championship squad to return to Mumbai City FC, and Ronney Kharbudon misses out due to injury. India Today reports Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s omission was influenced by his performance in the 4-0 defeat to Brazil.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All four outlets report the same squad list and Jamil’s quote verbatim from the AIFF release. Khel Now and Hindustan Times provide straight wire-style coverage. Indian Express and India Today lead with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s omission, with India Today adding that the decision follows his performance in the 4-0 loss to Brazil. Since none of the sources offer critical or favourable framing of the move, the coverage is uniform factual reporting. The key open point is how India will perform away against a World Cup-bound side on 12 and 15 November.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): PTI (carried by khelnow.com, hindustantimes.com), indianexpress.com (neutral report), indiatoday.in (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Update, 7 November 2026: further reports on this story from rediff.com, ndtv.com, thehindu.com.
