AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: Coach Stephen Constantine announced his 22-member squad for India's first-ever International fixture in China which is scheduled at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Suzhou City on October 13, 2018. Kick-off is at IST 17:05 Hrs.

As informed by coach Constantine earlier this evening, Balwant Singh had to be dropped from the squad because of some unavoidable circumstances. As his passport will expire in less than 6 months, he was denied the Chinese Visa.

Out of the 17 face-offs between these two sides so far, the Red Dragons have won on 12 occasions. The rest of the five matches ended in a stalemate.

During the media interaction at the JLN Stadium before departure on Tuesday night, Constantine mentioned that although the match was labelled as a 'Friendly', it is a serious affair for the entire team.

"Friendly or no-friendly, it’s the India National Team. It’s only a friendly game for the world but not us."

Meanwhile, the two national teams are going to lock horns after a prolonged gap of 21 years. In the last meeting, which took place in the Nehru Cup in Kochi in 1997, China pipped India 2-1.

The 22-member squad is as follows: