India let in ten goals against Brazil and Uruguay, and Gurpreet is out of the squad for New Zealand
Khalid Jamil has left Gurpreet Singh Sandhu out of his 23 for the friendlies in Auckland and Christchurch, and Vishal Kaith is back.
Nov 9, 2026
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is not in the India squad for the two friendlies in New Zealand. Khalid Jamil named 23 players on Friday, 6 November, with three goalkeepers in it: Vishal Kaith, Hrithik Tiwari and Som Kumar. Gurpreet, the former captain, is not one of them.
Jamil did not give a reason. PTI’s report tied the decision to Gurpreet’s evening against Brazil, who beat India 4-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 3 October. Three days later Uruguay won 6-1 at the same ground, with Gurpreet in goal. That is ten goals conceded in two games, and somebody was always going to pay for it.
Kaith gets another chance
Kaith is the obvious beneficiary. The Mohun Bagan goalkeeper lost his place to Gurpreet after Jamil took over from Manolo Márquez, and he has been playing well in the ISL since the season began in October. I’d expect him to start in Auckland.
I like the move. Gurpreet hasn’t turned into a bad goalkeeper overnight. But you can’t let in ten goals in four days and send out the same team as if nothing happened. Changing the keeper tells the rest of the squad that nobody’s place is safe.
Three regulars injured
Anwar Ali has a Grade 1 hamstring injury and could be out for more than a month, which is a blow for East Bengal as well as India. Lalengmawia Ralte, better known as Apuia, and Mohammed Sanan are also injured.
Three of the 23 are coming straight from the SAFF Championship in Dhaka. Bijoy Varghese, Muhammad Suhail and Liston Colaco are leaving Naushad Moosa’s squad to join Jamil, a few days after India beat Pakistan 3-2 in their SAFF opener.
The fixtures
India play New Zealand at Go Media Stadium in Auckland on Thursday, 12 November, at 11:30am IST. The second game is on Sunday, 15 November, at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch, at 8:30am IST. The Christchurch game is the first football match to be confirmed at the new stadium.
New Zealand played at the World Cup in North America this summer, and Jamil made no secret of how hard this will be. “New Zealand are also a World Cup-playing nation and a strong opponent, and these two matches will be a good test for us away from home,” he said. “We want to prepare well, play with discipline and use this opportunity to improve as a team.”
The two sides have met twice before. They drew 0-0 in 1981, and New Zealand won 2-1 in Mumbai in 2018. India have never beaten them.
The squad met in Bengaluru on Saturday, trained on Sunday and was due to fly to Auckland on Sunday night.
India’s 23
Goalkeepers: Hrithik Tiwari, Som Kumar, Vishal Kaith.
Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Bijoy Varghese, Jay Gupta, Mehtab Singh, Pramveer, Ricky Meetei Haobam, Roshan Singh Naorem.
Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ashique Kuruniyan, Jithin MS, Lalremtluanga Fanai, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Tomba Singh Haobam.
Forwards: David Lalhlansanga, Edmund Lalrindika, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Muhammad Suhail, Ryan Williams.