Indian squad named for Palestine friendly

NEW DELHI: National coach Wim Koevermans on Tuesday named a 23-member squad for the international friendly against Palestine scheduled to be played in Kochi on February 6.
Koevermans, under whom India had clinched the Nehru Cup title in September 2012, maintained that it's an important tie for the hosts.
"We need to assess ourselves. We need more such matches," Kovermans said.
Captain Sunil Chhetri said that international friendlies are important to know where the team stands.
"Unless you play international friendlies, you cannot gauge where you stand. We stay grateful to AIFF for arranging the match. The passion for the sport in Kerala stays unparallel and we expect a full house cheering for us against Palestine," he said.
Chennai-based referee A Rowan will officiate in the friendly.
23-member squad:
Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal, Sandip Nandy and Karanjit Singh.
Defenders: Nirmal Chhetri, Gouramangi Singh, Shouvik Ghosh, Syed Rahim Nabi, Gurjinder Kumar, Raju Gaikwad and Denzil Franco.
Midfielders: Lenny Rodrigues, Lalkamal Bhowmick, Arata Izumi, Mehtab Hossain, Francis Fernandes, Anthony Pereira, Alwyn George, Jewel Raja, Clifford Miranda and Vineet CK.
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Manandeep Singh, Sushil Kumar Singh.
Standbyes: Subhashish Roychowdhury, Dhanachandra Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Arnab Mondal, Gurwinder Singh, Rocus Lamare, Lalrindika Ralte, Peter Carvalho, Tomba Singh, Asif K, Malswamtulunga, Joaquim Abranches, Robin Singh and Jeje Lalpekhlua.
Referee: A Rowan (Chennai). Assistant Referees: Shaji Kurian (Kerala), Md. Kamil (Delhi). Fourth Official: MB Santosh Kumar (Kerala).
Match Commissioner: J Ravishankar (Delhi).