Khalid Jamil's tenure at the Indian men’s national team starts with the team set to participate in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025, co-hosted by Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. India is taking part as a guest invitee in the tournament alongside Oman, replacing Malaysia, which withdrew from the competition. Eight teams are participating in the tournament commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA). The nations have been divided into two groups, with the winners of each group qualifying for the final, while the runners-up contest a third-place playoff. The tournament will run from August 29 to September 8. All matches will be played in Hisor Central Stadium.
The Blue Tigers are in Group B with hosts Tajikistan, holders Iran, and former SAFF member Afghanistan. Jamil’s team is using the tournament to prepare for the crucial double header against Singapore in October in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. As things stand, those fixtures will be a do-or-die situation for India to keep their hopes of a third straight qualification to the Asian Cup alive. The team find themselves at the bottom of the pile after two games, with only the group winners of the qualifiers booking a spot in the main tournament in Saudi Arabia. So, the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 will be the test that will say whether the team have finally found the right man for the managerial job.
Managerial Shift
The AIFF decision to appoint Manolo Marquez, after getting rid of Igor Stimac, who oversaw the worst AFC Asian Cup last year and the subsequent unsuccessful 2026 FIFA World Cup, in a dual role managing his club FC Goa alongside international duties, backfired. Under the Spaniard’s watch, India suffered a catastrophic defence of their Intercontinental Cup title while playing out a frustrating goalless draw with Bangladesh and then losing to Hong Kong in the first two qualifying games of the third round for the 2027 Asian Cup. That forced him to step down from his role and return to club duties, having managed just one win in eight games. A change was required and the board decided to go against the continued trend of hiring foreign coaches with big wages, instead going for an Indian coach who would understand the ins and outs of Indian football precisely, with little time to adjust and understand the state of the national team and football as a whole in the country.
There was little doubt about the name that would come first in the preference list, Khalid Jamil, who has arguably been the best Indian coach over the past decade, appointed to the hot seat of managing the Blue Tigers in August 2025. Jamil became a well-known name in the Indian football circuit as he crafted a Leicester City story by guiding Aizawl FC to the I-League title against all odds in the 2016-17 season, a year after the Foxes’ fairytale having already caught the eye of keeping a struggling Mumbai FC in the top-flight for straight seven seasons while lacking financial back-up. Jamil’s impact stretched to ISL after he guided NorthEast United to their second-ever ISL playoffs, defeated by his former club Mohun Bagan in the semifinal, who ended another dream run with Jamshedpur FC at the same stage last season.
Hence, Jamil’s accomplishments and success at all top levels made him an ideal candidate for the national team job. In doing so, he became the first Indian coach since Savio Medeira to take charge of the Blue Tigers and the 17th overall. However, the former East Bengal coach’s appointment drew mixed reactions. Other than the suitability of having a qualified Indian coach managing the national team, his pragmatic style of play has raised questions. India’s main problem is scoring goals, having failed to find the back of the net in 11 of the last 16 games after their last competitive win against Kuwait on 16 November 2023. It is left to see whether Jamil will be the answer to bail India out of this misery.
India squad for CAFA Nations Cup 2025
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh, Amrinder Singh, Hrithik Tiwari
Defenders: Rahul Bheke, Roshan Singh, Anwar Ali, Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglensana Singh, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Muhammad Uvais
Midfielders: Nikhil Prabhu, Suresh Wangjam, Danish Farooq, Jeakson Singh, Boris Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan, Udanta Singh, Mahesh Singh
Forwards: Irfan Yadwad, Manvir Singh Jr, Jithin MS, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vikram Pratap
Head Coach: Khalid Jamil
Khalid Jamil explained that Sunil Chhetri was not selected for the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 squad because the tournament was being used as a preparatory game for the Asian Cup qualifiers in October. He wanted to test new and younger players during this competition, so the decision was tactical and not a permanent one. Jamil reinforced that the door is always open for Chhetri, who broke his retirement to return to the national side this year. Four new faces made it to the final squad, including Muhammed Uvais, whom Jamil managed at Jamshedpur FC, Jithin MS, Hrithik Tiwari and Manvir Singh, not to be confused with Mohun Bagan’s Manvir Singh.
Non-inclusion of Mohun Bagan players
The squad does not include players from Mohun Bagan Super Giant, as the club refused to release players for the tournament, which does not start within the stipulated FIFA international window. Clubs are not obliged to release players for matches outside the FIFA window, which was the main reason Malaysia withdrew from the competition, as they faced the unavailability of players due to this schedule conflict. Mohun Bagan wants a fresh and fit squad for their preparation for the crucial AFC Champions League 2 campaign, which starts in September and has already expressed concerns about the lack of communication and compensation from AIFF for player injuries sustained during national duty, as happened with the club captain, Subhasish Bose. This resparked the debate of club vs country in what to prioritise, with both having legitimate stands, but being unable to come to terms to resolve the situation.
India fixtures for CAFA Nations Cup 2025
29 August 2025
Tajikistan vs India (21:00)
1 September 2025
India vs Iran (17:30)
4 September 2025
Afghanistan vs India (17:30)
Prediction
The CAFA Nations Cup 2025 will be a tough tournament for India due to the difficulty of facing the higher-ranked Central Asian teams. The Blue Tigers are severely lacking in form and haven’t managed a competitive win in almost two years. They are currently on a three-game winless run, including back-to-back defeats, which is alarming. The absence of many crucial players for the national team due to Mohun Bagan withholding them is also a blow for the side ahead of the tournament. Having Iran in the group, also the holders of the tournament and preparing for the 2026 World Cup, is another major challenge, as they surely take the top spot, arriving with a full-strength squad, so the practical fight for India will be the second spot, which will help them qualify for the third-place match. However, having beaten host Tajikistan just once in their history and even capitulating against lowly Afghanistan in the World Cup qualifiers last year, which ultimately cost them a chance to advance to the third round for the first time, makes it a tough challenge nevertheless. The chances for Blue Tigers in the competition are really bleak. Hence, Khalid Jamil is compelled to show encouraging signs in his first tournament in charge, otherwise, the pressure will only grow for the Asian Cup qualification in October.
