Seven Indian players miss Bahrain-bound flight due to visa-related issues ahead of friendly

Manama: Seven of India's national football team players, who were supposed to play in an international friendly against higher-ranked Bahrain on Wednesday, in all likelihood will miss the match as they could not travel along with the team from Mumbai due to visa-related issues.

Eighteen players out of the 25-member squad as well as head coach Igor Stimac and the support staff reached Manama on Monday, where the national team will lock horns in international friendlies against hosts Bahrain on Wednesday and against Belarus on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, defender Chinglensana Singh and Akash Mishra and midfielders Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Aniket Yadav and Bipin Singh could not board the flight along with their team-mates on Monday as their visa approval did not come on time.

"We faced difficulties in our travel. Seven players (out of 25) are left out in Mumbai, still waiting for their visa approval which we had applied two months ago," Stimac said in a virtual press conference.

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"Hopefully, they will by today get the permission (visa approval) and fly out from there (Mumbai) and join the squad by tonight. Otherwise, we can't be optimistic that they will be involved in the match tomorrow."

An All India Football Federation (AIFF) source said the visas of the seven players came on Tuesday and they will be leaving for Bahrain on Wednesday.

"The visas of all the players came today and they are flying out tomorrow," the source told PTI.

Earlier, he said all the seven players could fly out of Mumbai by Tuesday itself.

Stimac is unsure about the strategy he will employ on Wednesday against a strong side like Bahrain if the seven players are not available for the match.

"I don't know what I will do in such a circumstance. I have to see how many players are available at the end of the day here at Manama. (If the seven are not available, I will try to put the best available XI and try few things," he said.

India have never beaten Bahrain in their football history, the drawn match (0-0) in 1982 being their best result so far.

In the last meeting between the two sides in the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE, Bahrain had emerged victorious through a stoppage-time goal from a spot kick. Till then, India under Stephen Constantine were on the verge of booking a historic knock-out berth in the Asian Cup.

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