When Indian national football team coach Khalid Jamil announced his 23-member probable squad on November 5 for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Final Round Qualifier clash against Bangladesh national football team (on November 18 in Dhaka), one thing stood out: not a single player from Mohun Bagan Super Giant made the list, despite the club’s early exit from the ongoing AIFF Super Cup.
That omission has reignited questions around the blurred lines of club influence, national duty and fairness in Indian football.
The Timeline
- India will take on Bangladesh on November 18 at the National Stadium, Dhaka, with camp starting in Bengaluru from November 6 and departure to Dhaka on November 15.
- Among the 23 probables, young defender Mohammed Sanan — originally called up for the U23 squad — has been elevated to the senior team.
- Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan SG are yet to release their players for the national camp and are expected to do so later, a recurring pattern that fans and pundits say raises eyebrows.
The VIP Perception
In recent international windows, situations have occurred that strengthen the perception of club-side leverage over national team matters. For example, Khalid Jamil had earlier named Macarton Nickson (of NorthEast United FC) against Singapore, only to drop him in the return leg against the same side in Goa, in favour of a late-added Mohun Bagan midfielder who in fact made the starting XI. This kind of last-minute alteration, particularly when tied to a major club’s players, fuels debate over merit-based selection.
More than just selection politics: Systemic issues
It isn’t just about player names. Wider structural problems have surfaced in Indian football:
Overpayment and lack of hunger
Kerala Blasters FC CEO Abhik Chatterjee recently observed that “in the current ecosystem Indian players are being highly over-paid by few clubs”. He argued that such financial complacency may reduce motivation and hamper the national side’s competitiveness.
Such pay structures may create an environment where players are less inclined to make sacrifices — such as joining early camps, travelling internationally, or putting club demands aside.
Players skipping national duty citing fitness
There have been multiple occasions when players from Indian clubs have avoided national camps or matches by citing “fitness concerns” or club priorities. While exact instances are varied and not always widely reported, fans and analysts frequently point to the March international window match in Shillong as a case in point — where certain players reportedly opted out of national duty, raising questions about commitment to the national jersey.
Limited match-time for Indian players
Another key issue raised by experts: some clubs fail to fully utilise their Indian contingent, especially with frequent foreign imports. Limited domestic playing time means rising Indian players don’t get the exposure needed for senior international duty. The national team ends up with a smaller pool of match-hardened talent.
What this means ahead of the Bangladesh match
For India’s national team to avoid external distractions and internal grumblings ahead of the Dhaka clash, the bulk of the work lies in ensuring transparency in squad selection, aligning club and country calendars better, and creating a culture where national duty isn’t considered optional or subordinate.
If Mohun Bagan SG players do join the camp late and are fast-tracked into the XI, that alone could reignite perceptions of VIP access — even if no rule is broken. The credibility of the national setup lies not just in who is selected, but how and when.
For fans of the Indian national team, club football followers, and the broader Indian football ecosystem, this episode strikes at the heart of selection fairness, club-country dynamics and development pathways. As India prepares for the Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh, the real question won’t just be who plays — but whether how they were selected sends the right message about trust, transparency and performance culture.
