New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) India's chief football coach Wim Koevermans Wednesday dropped East Bengal defender Raju Gaikwad from the 20-member squad for the international friendly against Yemen to be held in Guwahati, Nov 14.
Gaikwad, a former Pailan Arrows skipper, has been out of form lately and was unimpressive in last month's international against Singapore. The Mumbai lad has been kept as a stand-bye.
Another Arrows defender, Shouvik Ghosh, however, found a place in the Dutchman's squad for the first time for his conistent performance in the I-League.
Koevermans said it will be an important match for India.
"We need to assess ourselves. We need more such matches," he said.
Sunil Chhetri, who will be leading the side, said two international friendlies in two months is a good sign for the national team.
"Unless you play international friendlies, you cannot gauge where you stand. We stay grateful to AIFF for arranging two International Friendlies in two months."
"It was a great feeling to have played in Guwahati in front of a full house in an international friendly against Malaysia last year. The passion for the sport in the state stays unparalleled and we expect another full house cheering for us against Yemen," he said.
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal, Subhasish Roychowdhury, Karanjeet Singh.
Defenders: Nirmal Chhetri, Denzil Franco, Gouramangi Singh, Gurwinder Singh, Shouvik Gosh, Syed Rahim Nabi.
Midfielders: Lenny Rodrigues, Mehtab Hossain, Jewel Raja, Francis Fernandes, Alwyn George, Anthony Pereira, Sanju Pradhan, Clifford Miranda.
Forwards: Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Manandeep Singh.
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