Sunil Chhetri to lead Bengaluru FC, Delgado left out of AFC Cup

Sunil Chhetri

India Captain Sunil Chhetri who will returning in action after recovering from COVID-19 and will be leading Bengaluru FC in AFC Cup Preliminary stage two which will be played on April 14th 2021.

Bengaluru FC on Thursday named 29 member squad who will be competing against Nepalese side Tribhuvan Army FC. The situation is panicking after three cases were detected among players and staff with COVID-19.

Five reserve team players have been named in the side as the game would be special for head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli who is preparing for his first game as incharge of the Blues.

“Skipper Sunil Chhetri will lead the side into a seventh season of continental football, with the 36-year-old having joined the side in Goa where preparations for the campaign are well underway,” the club said in a statement.

India badly missed the services of a talismanic Indian skipper recently where the Blue Tigers in absence of Chhetri drawn their first game against Oman by 1-1 and lost by 6-0 against UAE.

The new foreign player Yrondu Musavu-King who plays at the defender position will be joining the likes of Juanan Gonzalez, Cleiton Silva and Erik Paartalu in the squad for the qualifying campaign.  However Spainish midfielder Dimas Delgado has been eradicated from the squad.

However the match will be played behind closed doors at GMC stadium due to rise in COVID-19 cases.