India 2023 AFC Asian Cup Squad
Head Coach: 
Igor Štimac
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of Birth/Age | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu | 3 February 1992 (age 31) | 66 | 0 |  Bengaluru |
| 13 | GK | Vishal Kaith | 22 July 1996 (age 27) | 4 | 0 | Mohun Bagan |
| 23 | GK | Amrinder Singh | 27 May 1993 (age 30) | 13 | 0 | Odisha |
| 2 | DF | Rahul Bheke | 6 December 1990 (age 33) | 24 | 1 | Mumbai City |
| 3 | DF | Subhasish Bose | 18 August 1995 (age 28) | 35 | 0 | Mohun Bagan |
| 4 | DF | Lalchungnunga | 25 December 2000 (age 23) | 1 | 0 | East Bengal |
| 5 | DF | Sandesh Jhingan | 21 July 1993 (age 30) | 60 | 5 | Goa |
| 6 | DF | Akash Mishra | 27 November 2001 (age 22) | 24 | 0 | Mumbai City |
| 20 | DF | Pritam Kotal | 8 September 1993 (age 30) | 52 | 0 | Kerala Blasters |
| 21 | DF | Nikhil Poojary | 3 September 1995 (age 28) | 21 | 1 | Hyderabad |
| 22 | DF | Mehtab Singh | 5 May 1998 (age 25) | 8 | 0 | Mumbai City |
| 7 | MF | Anirudh Thapa | 15 January 1998 (age 25) | 53 | 4 | Mohun Bagan |
| 8 | MF | Suresh Singh Wangjam | 7 August 2000 (age 23) | 22 | 1 | Bengaluru |
| 10 | MF | Brandon Fernandes | 20 September 1994 (age 29) | 22 | 0 | Goa |
| 12 | MF | Liston Colaco | 12 November 1998 (age 25) | 18 | 0 | Mohun Bagan |
| 14 | MF | Naorem Mahesh Singh | 1 March 1999 (age 24) | 16 | 3 | East Bengal |
| 15 | MF | Udanta Singh Kumam | 14 June 1996 (age 27) | 48 | 2 | Goa |
| 18 | MF | Sahal Abdul Samad | 1 April 1997 (age 26) | 35 | 3 | Mohun Bagan |
| 19 | MF | Lalengmawia Ralte | 17 October 2000 (age 23) | 13 | 0 | Mumbai City |
| 25 | MF | Deepak Tangri | 1 February 1999 (age 24) | 0 | 0 | Mohun Bagan |
| 9 | FW | Manvir Singh | 7 November 1995 (age 28) | 37 | 7 | Mohun Bagan |
| 11 | FW | Sunil Chhetri (captain) | 3 August 1984 (age 39) | 145 | 93 | Bengaluru |
| 16 | FW | Rahul K. P. | 16 February 2000 (age 23) | 6 | 0 | Kerala Blasters |
| 17 | FW | Lallianzuala Chhangte | 8 June 1997 (age 26) | 32 | 7 | Mumbai City |
| 24 | FW | Vikram Partap Singh | 16 January 2002 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | Mumbai City |
| 25 | FW | Ishan Pandita | 26 May 1998 (age 25) | 7 | 1 | Kerala Blasters |
Most Capped Player: Sunil Chhetri – 145
Top Goalscorer: Sunil Chhetri – 93
India 2023 Asian Cup Preview
For the first time in history, India have qualified for a second consecutive AFC Asian Cup, and they head to Qatar for the 2023 edition of the tournament. Managed by Igor Štimac, they’ll be looking to cause a few upsets and potentially reach the knockout stages for the first time in the competition’s current format.
The Indians were eliminated at the first hurdle back in 2019, as they finished bottom of their group with one win and two losses. Their two appearances prior to that one also came to disappointing ends following the culmination of the group stages, however they finished as runners-up in their first appearance at the finals back in 1964.
India secured their spot in this year’s edition of the tournament after topping their AFC Asian Cup third round qualification group, finishing ahead of Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia with a perfect record.
Drawn into Group B, India get their campaign underway against top seeds Australia on 13 January in Al Rayyan before taking on Uzbekistan in the same location five days later. Their group stage action comes to a close on 23 January in Al Khor as they take on Syria.
India Player To Watch
Perhaps the greatest Indian footballer of all time, we’ve identified Sunil Chhetri as The Blue Tigers‘ player to watch in Qatar. At 39-years-old, Chhetri is now India’s most capped player, the nation’s all-time leading goalscorer, and is also the third-highest international goalscorer among active players, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (fourth overall).
Despite turning 40-years-old later this year, Chhetri has shown no signs of stopping and is still one of the first names on the teamsheet for his club Bengaluru and India. Typically deployed as a central striker, but also on the left-wing, Chhetri boasts two goals and two assists in his 10 Indian Super League matches thus far this term.
His goalscoring return for India is much more impressive as he netted nine goals in 14 appearances in 2023, his second best return since making his senior debut in 2005. His finest moment of the year came at the SAFF Championship back in June, where he netted a hat-trick against Pakistan in a 4-0 win before going on to lift the trophy after beating Kuwait on penalties in the final.
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