Tri-Nation tournament: Players who may get their national team debut

The Indian men's national team is set to participate in the Tri-National friendly football tournament against Myanmar and Kyrgyz Republic at Imphal, Manipur, from 22nd March onwards.

Head coach Igor Stimac explained in an interview with the AIFF media team that he intended to give his squad a youthful shade to it, and naturally, there are a lot of youngsters who can very well put on the national colours for the first time in their careers and step on the pitch.

• Mehtab Singh
  

He is one of the many players to come into his own in the 2022-23 season. Singh played 21 games for Mumbai city FC and has made 55 passes on average per game with an 87.66% accuracy rate.

The Indian football team's head coach loves a defender who can take responsibility at the back by defending, and create a good pass, and that is why he has selected the 24-year-old talented defender in his squad.

• Rohit Kumar

Rohit Kumar wasn't even a starting player for Bengaluru FC when they started this ISL season. He was usually utilized as an energetic substitute but it didn't work. However, after featuring in their 2-1 win against NorthEast United FC in the January, Kumar earned a starting place in the team and played a pivotal role in the midfield during Bengaluru's resurgence.

Kumar achieved all this because his never-give-up mentality in the midfield has helped add more stability as well as defend better against opponents. We might just see a glimpse of the Delhi-boy in Indian colours in the tournament.

• Naorem Mahesh Singh

The East Bengal winger wasn't in Stimac's plans, initially. However, after youngster Sivasakthi found himself injured within the first minute during the Indian Super League fina, Naorem received his maiden national team call-up.

Singh formed a brilliant connection with Brazilian forward Cleiton Silva during the league matches, and the winger can very well form a similar bond on the pitch with the likes of Sunil Chhetri and Manvir Singh up top.

With two goals and seven assists in a Red and Gold shirt, Singh can prove to be an important provider for Igor Stimac's team.

• Phurba Lachenpa

ISL Shield Winner Phurba Lachenpa of Mumbai City FC played 22 games this season, almost average saving three goals per match. He just did not perform well as a goalkeeper but he was good with the passes he made, having 15 accurate ones, both short and long, under his belt.

The 25- year-old will be hoping to get an outing with the national site for the first time, but it'll be tough for Stimac to choose the youngster ahead of more experienced campaigners like Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Amrinder Singh. However, the call-up alone should be a huge boost for Lachenpa's career.

• Ritwik Das

Ritwik Das flourished this season despite Jamshedpur FC having a poor year. Ritwik brought fresh life to Aidy Boothroyd's team by tormenting enemies with his razor-sharp flair. He scored six goals in 18 games by making excellent use of his mobility and finishing strong.

Das concluded the campaign as Jamshedpur's top scorer and the third-highest Indian goal scorer overall in the ISL. In their previous four games, the winger helped them win three of them with three goals.

Due to his impressive season's end, Das has been added to the India team. He plans to play in the upcoming games in the hopes of making his international debut and enhancing an already outstanding season.