 "How Khalid Jamil revived goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's India career")
It took a phone call and some confidence boost from new India head coach Khalid Jamil to turn goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu into a match-winner once again. The towering goalkeeper Gurpreet had lost his place not just in the playing XI, but also in the squad under former coach Manolo Marquez. But his fortunes have been revived by Jamil, who took over as the new coach in August 2025.
This proved to be a masterstroke as Gurpreet’s return to form turned India into a much tougher opponent as they went on to win the bronze medal at the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 on their debut.
The Bengaluru FC’s Gurpreet saved a penalty in India’s victory over higher-ranked Tajikistan in the tournament opener. He also made multiple saves against Afghanistan as India qualified for the third-place playoff, and the 33-year-old blocked the final penalty in the shootout against higher-ranked Oman in the final game as India won a historic bronze medal.
How Khalid Jamil revived Gurpreet’s India career
Explaining what it took for Jamil to revive Gurpreet’s career, the 48-year-old coach told Hindustan Times that the goalkeeper was the first player he contacted after being hired by the AIFF.
“My first call on being appointed head coach was to Gurpreet and I told him he was needed,” Jamil told HT. “If you ask me who is the best player in India, my answer is: Gurpreet.
“I think he is one of the best goalkeepers in Asia. I told myself that my biggest mistake will be not calling Gurpreet. What did I do to help him? Gave him confidence. Bas baat khatam (game over).”
Considering India’s poor form and their defeat to Hong Kong in June, which proved to be Marquez’s last match, Jamil has secured a very impressive start with the Blue Tigers, while also bringing in a significant change in the mindset of the players, who had been criticised for not giving their best for the blue jersey.
Khalid credits Indian players for turnaround
Jamil, however, doesn’t want to take any credit as he credited his players for the turnaround. “Everyone was under pressure and wanted results for a long time. The important thing is India won (a bronze) but it was all down to the players,” he told.
“It never felt like I was missing under-23 players (unavailable because of Asian qualifiers) or the seven from Mohun Bagan Super Giant or the fact that many players had not done pre-season training,” he added.
“The desire that I saw in the players from the time of the camp in Bengaluru gave me the hope we will achieve something.”
To explain the sacrifices of his players, he revealed that defender Sandesh Jhingan did not share his cheekbone injury with the coach until the end of the Iran match, which India lost 3-0, despite suffering the injury in the 11th minute.
Jamil also praised footballers like Rahul Bheke, Anwar Ali and other Indian squad players, who helped Blue Tigers secure a memorable victory in Tajikistan.
“Rahul (Bheke) is quiet but a lion on the pitch. Anwar Ali is calm. In the last game (against Oman), substitutes came on and made the difference. Joh hua automatic tha. Everyone wanted to prove themselves. The new players went above and beyond what I had asked of them.”
India will face Singapore twice in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers in October and the national camp for the same is set to begin from 20 September in Bengaluru.
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