SAFF Cup 2018: India vs Sri Lanka - Squad, Date, Time & TV Channel

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March 14 2026, 05:00 PM

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Indian national football team players during a training session watched by coach Stephen Constantine ahead of their SAFF Suzuki Cup opener against Sri Lanka in Dhaka (Image: AIFF Media)

Dhaka, September 4: A young Indian side, fresh off their exploits in Australia, will begin their title defence against Sri Lanka in the opening Group B game of the SAFF Suzuki Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday (September 5).

"We're coming from a very effective camp in Australia. We had three very different sorts of game (against APIA Leichhardt Tigers, Sydney FC And Rydalmere Lions FC) and our boys have worked very hard to make a point there," head coach Stephen Constantine said on Tuesday (September 4). "Facing some of the good sides in this tournament would be a real challenge for us and this is the best scenario to test ourselves," he added.

The team will be led by full back Subhasish Bose. Striker Sumeet Passi is the only one over the age of 23 in the 20-man squad named by Constantine for the tournament. "Apart from Sunil (Chhetri), Jeje (Lalpekhlua) and Balwant (Singh), there are not many out-and-out strikers in India. Then comes Farukh, Manvir, Passi who have minimal international experiences so far. We need more Indian strikers and these boys have shown their potential. As for Passi, he'll have as much a chance as anyone else to get into the AFC Asian Cup squad," Constantine informed.

India, who are currently ranked 96th in the latest FIFA rankings have been on the winning side 15 times against their neighbours out of the 22 face-offs so far. The Islanders' noteworthy victory against India came in the final of 1995 SAFF Championship, which was then named as South Asian Gold Cup.

Constantine feels that the youngsters need to get as much international exposure as possible, which is why he did not name any senior players in his squad for the tournament.

"Obviously these boys have set their target to represent the senior team in the future. But if we don't provide them with opportunities, how would we be able to know about their capabilities? We have a set of confident players for the Asian Cup but we must continue developing more players for the coming days. That's the primary challenge for these set of boys," Constantine said.

Sri Lanka's newly-appointed coach Nizam Packeer Ali, who played against India in an Olympic qualifier back in 1979, feels the "better team" will have an edge on the ground. "There are no favourites once the match kicks off and the better team will win eventually. It's very crucial to start the campaign with a positive result and we're up for it," he said. "It's better to face India early in such a tournament rather facing them in the knock-out stage."

Remarkably, Sri Lanka drew 1-1 against Constantine-coached India back in the 2003 SAFF Championship, which happened to be the first edition of the SAFF Championship staged in Bangladesh.

"I am new to the team and I'm trying to get along with a new set of players. We are following the Sri Lanka Football Vision 2030 plan and I'm happy with the progress so far," Ali added.

India vs Sri Lanka

Live at 6.30 pm IST

on D Sport

India squad:

GOALKEEPERS: Vishal Kaith, Kamaljit Singh, Sukhdev Patil

DEFENDERS: Davinder Singh, Salam Ranjan Singh, Sarthak Golui, Subhasish Bose, Mohd. Sajid Dhot, Jerry Lalrinzuala

MIDFIELDERS: Nikhil Poojary, Vinit Rai, Germanpreet Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan, Vignesh D

FORWARDS: Sumit Passi, Hitesh Sharma, Manvir Singh, Farukh Choudhary

HEAD COACH: Stephen Constantine

SAFF Cup fixtures:

Nepal vs Pakistan on Sept 4 - 3.30 pm IST

Bangladesh vs Bhutan on Sept 4 - 6.30 pm IST