New Delhi, July 18 :
New Delhi, July 18:
The club suspension order notwithstanding, Bijen Singh of East Bengal was today finally named in the Indian team on its England tour. Bijen's entry pushed winger Abdul Hakeem of SBT out of contention.
National coach Sukhwinder Singh felt that Bijen had more thrust than Hakeem who has been in the squad since the World Cup qualifiers. Bhaichung Bhutia, who will join the team in England, was expectedly named captain. The team leaves late tomorrow.
I.M. Vijayan, who joined the squad today, is willing to pay the Rs 50,000 fine to the AIFF and is glad that the transfer imbroglio as far as he is concerned is over.
India meet Brentford (14th in Division 2) on July 24. Four days later they meet Nottingham Forest (11th in Division I). On July 31 they play Leyton Orient (fourth in Division III). Their final match is against Walsall (Division I).
Sukhwinder is confident that the team has become more combative and will give a good account of themselves. All the matches will be live on Doordarshan Sports channel.
Sukhwinder also hopes players of Indian origin, playing professional football in England - like Harpal Singh of Leeds United reserves and Michael Chopra of Newcastle United reserves will join the Indians for training sessions.
THE SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Virender Singh (Mahindra Utd), Sangram Mukherjee (East Bengal), N. Balaji (ITI Bangalore).
Defenders: Sur Kumar Singh (Mahindra Utd), K.V. Dhanesh (ITI), Mahesh Gawli (Zee-Churchill), Deepak Mondal (East Bengal), Roberto Fernandez (Salgaocar), M. Suresh (Mahindra Utd) and Daljit Singh (JCT).
Midfielders: Jules Alberto (Mah-indra Utd), R.P. Singh (Mohun Bagan), Khalid Jameel (Mahindra Utd), P. Renedy Singh (Mohun Bagan), Hardip Sangha (JCT) and Dipankar Roy (East Bengal).
Forwards: Bijen Singh (East Bengal), Bhaichung Bhutia (Bury FC), I.M. Vijayan (East Bengal), Mohd. Najeeb (Mahindra Utd), Alvito D'Cunha (Salgaocar) and Hardip Gill (JCT).
Coach: Sukhwinder Singh.