Mumbai City FC midfielder Apuia has asked not to be considered for the upcoming national team camp because of his master’s degree exam. Alongside him, Akash Mishra, Rahul KP and Mohammed Yasir will also miss out on the training camp due to injuries.
Although it is a strange reason to not be considered for national team duty, it also illustrates how short a footballer’s career is and why it’s important to diversify one’s skill set when one has the time.
Apuia will not participate in FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers vs Kuwait and Qatar
Midfielder Lalengmawia Ralte (Apuia) Likely to Miss team India's crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match versus Kuwait (6th June) due to his University Exams close to that game! 🇮🇳
— IFTWC – Indian Football (@IFTWC) May 9, 2024
Akash Mishra, Rahul KP and Mohammed Yasir also likely to miss out owing to their Injuries 🤕 pic.twitter.com/3OWeMB8qjp
Indian national team captain Sunil Chhetri will also join the camp late because of an illness in the family. Head coach Igor Stimac has named a total of 41 players across two lists, all of whom will be a part of the four-week camp in Bhubaneswar starting May 10.
At the end of the camp, the final squad will be chosen from the performances of the players. The upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Kuwait and Qatar are extremely important for India’s ambitions of reaching Round 3.
They will need a result against Kuwait and Qatar to ensure that they finish second in the table and qualify for the next round. Apuia’s loss will be a blow for sure, but India have a wealth of other options to cover for him as well.
