India forced to play Rafi in Asian Cup opener
January 9th, 2011 - 4:15 pm ICT by IANSDoha, Jan 9 (IANS) Forward Sushil Singh is ruled out of the first two matches of the AFC Asian Cup football tournament, having been suspended on disciplinary grounds, leaving chief coach Bob Houghton with no option but to include I-league top scorer Mohammad Rafi of Churchill Brothers in the 23-member Indian squad.Sushil was suspended for elbowing a North Korean in the AFC Challenge Cup in Colombo last February while captain Bhaichung Bhutia is nursing a calf muscle injury. That leaves India with just two strikers, Sunil Chettri and Abhishek Yadav, for their opening match against Australia Monday at the Al Sadd Stadium.
A top team official told IANS that no team can play a match with two strikers, more so against the World No.26 side, and Rafi, who was a stand-by for the injured Bhutia, will perforce be played.
“We may deregister one player to bring in Rafi. In no way we can risk playing against Australia with just two strikers and Rafi has to be played upfront,” the official said.
Asked if Bhutia would be deregistered again to make way for Rafi, he said: “That’s for Houghton to decide. Though Bhutia has played for just 30 minutes in the last 18 months, his influence in the dressing room is huge, so Houghton may think of dropping a defender or a mid-fielder.”
Bhutia was dropped from the squad to include him in the squad as a technical official only to get him back in as a player Friday.
- Rafi replaces Sushil in India's Asian Cup squad (Lead) - Jan 09, 2011
- AIFF flip-flop may cost Bhaichung a place in Asian Cup team (Roundup) - Jan 07, 2011
- I am giving myself another 2-3 days, says Bhaichung (Lead) - Jan 07, 2011
- Will give our best against Australia: Bhutia - Jan 09, 2011
- In another flip-flop, AFC re-registers Bhutia in Asian Cup team (Intro Roundup) - Jan 08, 2011
- Will injured Bhaichung play AFC Asian Cup? - Jan 07, 2011
- Tough to retain an injured Bhaichung in team: AIFF - Jan 07, 2011
- Without Bhutia it will be tough against Australia: Chettri - Jan 09, 2011
- Chettri to lead India in AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers - Mar 21, 2011
- Houghton expects Portugal camp to be productive - Jun 30, 2010
- Training without Bhaichung feels different: Chettri - Jun 18, 2011
- Chettri doubtful, Bhaichung ruled out for Iraq tie - Nov 10, 2010
- Wadoo, Pereira strike as India beat Namibia 2-0 (Lead) - Sep 15, 2010
- Bhutia-Chettri combination to start against Kyrgyzstan - Aug 22, 2009
- SAFF final: Afghanistan will not be easy meat for India - Dec 10, 2011
Tags: afc asian cup, afc challenge cup, al sadd, asian cup, bhaichung bhutia, bob houghton, calf muscle injury, chief coach, churchill brothers, coach bob, cup football, disciplinary grounds, dressing room, football tournament, mid fielder, mohammad rafi, strikers, sushil, top scorer, yadav