AIFF announces 30 players for 2011 Asian Cup preparations

New Delhi: All India Football Federation today announced a 30-member probable list for the preparations of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup with JCT striker Baljit Sahni being the only new face in it. The probables were on expected lines as all the 25 players who had gone to Dubai for a 20-day training camp as part of the preparations for the AFC Asian Cup were included in the list. 22-year-old Sahni was to go to Colombo last year for the SAFF Cup but a motorcycle accident in Goa in November before JCT`s I-League match against Salgaocar resulted to him missing the bus. In an ambitious plan, the AIFF will keep these players for national training camps from June-July till January 2011 when the AFC Asian Cup will be held in Doha, Qatar. The players will not be allowed to take part in domestic competitions, including I-League, and they will be paid their salary by the federation. Goalkeepers: Subrata Paul, Subhashish Roy Choudhury, Arindam Bhattacharya. Defenders: Irungbam Surkumar Singh, N S Manju, Samir Naik, Mohanraj, Mahesh Gawli, Gouramangi Singh, Anwar, Govin Singh, Deepak Mondal, Rakesh Masih. Midfielders: Steven Dias, Climax Lawrence, N P Pradeep, Anthony Pereira, Lukram James Singh, Rennedy Singh, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Syed Rahim Nabi, Baldeep Singh, Clifford Miranda, Jagpreet Singh Strikers: Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri, Abhishek Yadav, Mohammed Rafi, Sushil Kumar Singh, Baljit Sahni. PTI