Less than 48 hours after coach Khalid Jamil’s senior Indian team went down to Singapore and failed to qualify for the prestigious AFC Asian Cup, the coach of India’s U-23 team, Naushad Moosa, has spoken out about a critical issue that has often hindered the national team’s success — clubs not releasing key players for camps and international assignments.

Heartbreak in qualifiers

Moosa, cited the example of his own team, which failed to qualify for the U-23 Asian Cup by the skin of their teeth after finishing fifth among the second-placed teams (only the top four second-placed teams across 11 qualifying groups made it to the main event).