CS Sabeeth is the only Keralite in the list of 23 players who have been called up for the Indian national team's preparatory camp that will be held from March 15 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the backdrop of the AFC Challenge Cup 2012 Qualifiers that will be held there between March 21 and 25.
Sabeeth had been named in the Indian under-23 team for the Pre-Olympic qualifiers last week and had also scored the goal for Indian that would take them through to the next round. The Viva Kerala forward has also represented the country at the under-19 level earlier.
Though Sabeeth caught the attention of the national team coach Bob Houghton, the other two Keralites who featured for India in the AFC Asian Cup 2011, midfielder NP Pradeep and striker Mohammed Rafi were excluded from the list.
India are clubbed in Group B along with Chinese Taipei, Turkmenistan and Pakistan. India will take on Chinese Taipei in the opener on March 21, while they will lock their horns with Pakistan on March 23 before taking on Turkmenistan in the final group league match on March 25.
The 23 players who were called for the camp are:
Goalkeepers: Arindam Bhattacharya (Churchill Brothers SC), Subrata Pal (Pune FC), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Indian Arrows).
Defenders: Anwar (Mohun Bagan AC), Nirmal Chhetri (East Bengal Club), Denzil Franco (Churchill Brothers SC), Raju Gaekwad (Indian Arrows), N.S. Manju (United Sikkim FC), Nalappan Mohanraj (Mohun Bagan AC), Syed Rahim Nabi (East Bengal Club), Gouramangi Moirangthem (Churchill Brothers SC), Govin Moirangthem (Salgaocar SC).
Midfielders: Joaquim Abranches (Dempo SC), Shilton D'Silva (Indian Arrows), Steven Dias (Churchill Brothers SC), Rakesh Masih (Mohun Bagan AC), Jewel Sheikh Raja (Indian Arrows), Baldeep Singh (Salgaocar SC), Jagpreet Singh (JCT).
Strikers: Sunil Chhetri (Chirag United SC), Jeje Lalpekhulua (Indian Arrows), CS Sabeeth (Viva Kerala), Sushil Kumar Singh (East Bengal Club)
Officials: Robert Douglas Houghton (Chief Coach) Assistant, Savio Medeira (Assistant Coach), Marcus Anthony Pacheco (Goalkeeping Coach), Mandhar Tamhane (Manager)
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Saturday 12 March 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.