‘Khalid sir played for India, so he has that passion’: Nikhil Prabhu explains Indian football team’s resurgence

The Indian football team did not have a full-time coach when the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced that the Blue Tigers would soon be making their debut in the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup 2025. Exactly two days later, the search ended with former India midfielder Khalid Jamil as he was handed the second-lowest-ranked side in the CAFA Nations Cup. Talk about baptism by fire.

But fire forges steel, and that stony determination was written all over the Indian players, who stunned two higher-ranked teams in the high-profile tournament to secure a famous bronze medal for India. In the bronze-medal match, India beat Oman in a penalty shootout — a team they had never defeated before — while Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who returned to the squad after being overlooked by former coach Manolo Marquez, pulled off the most crucial save at the end.

From the opening win against hosts Tajikistan to the unprecedented result (officially a draw) against Oman, India’s game plan had a few common elements — play with passion, be aggressive, defend and attack as a team, and be fearless. These are the very elements that have been the cornerstone of 48-year-old Khalid Jamil’s coaching legacy, which has seen him achieve multiple milestones with underdogs in domestic football.

Khalid Jamil’s local knowledge served him well

But to successfully embed it in national team players after just a 10-day camp in Bengaluru, especially when the Blue Tigers had failed to beat two lower-ranked sides in their last three matches, seems nothing short of a miracle. But defensive midfielder Nikhil Prabhu, who was one of the main players for India in the CAFA Nations Cup 2025, says it was not a miracle. It was Khalid Jamil’s ability to inspire his players, his understanding of the Indian players as a local and the freedom that he gave to his players.

“All coaches have their own tactics and way of coaching,” Prabhu told Firstpost. “From the first day, coach (Khalid Jamil) had only one message — ‘you all have reached here on merit and you need to do the same for the national team. It shouldn’t matter that you guys are coming from separate clubs.’

“The main thing is that Khalid sir has played for India, so he has that passion. As he is an Indian, he knows our background. He knows our struggle, our journey. Like, he is from Mumbai, I am from Mumbai, so he knows how we travel long here in the local train to play football. He knows our way of living and how we have come up.

“He demanded this one thing for us: when you are on the pitch, give your 100 per cent, don’t worry about the result. There was no doubt about our efforts or passion. He was also a national team player, a midfielder, and very aggressive.”

The 24-year-old Punjab FC midfielder reveals that the foundation of a strong team unity and trust was laid down at the very start of the national camp in Bengaluru before the team left for Dushanbe.

“ISL is not happening, but that doesn’t mean we are on a vacation. Some or the other day, it will happen, so we need to be fit and we need to be working towards it. When we gathered in Bengaluru, everyone was in good shape and the only motto was to fight till the end,” Prabhu shared. “We had a lot of senior players who helped us, and we knew there were higher-ranked teams (in CAFA Nations Cup), but it’s football. It’s 11 vs 11.

“What we spoke about in the huddle was that as a team, we need unity. If you watched the CAFA Nations Cup, it was very different to break us, to break out our defensive line. That was our only aim during this camp.”

India, a team with many leaders under Khalid Jamil

But words can only go so far. To make all the players feel accountable, they had to feel involved. This is where Khalid Jamil was especially different from foreign coaches, feels Prabhu, who has also played for FC Goa, Odisha FC and Hyderabad FC.

Being the first Indian coach of the national football team since Savio Medeira in 2011-12, Khalid wanted all the players on the pitch to feel like leaders, own up to their mistakes, and give their best.

“The foreign coaches think as a team and there are a few leaders. But Khalid gave responsibility to everyone,” Nikhli added. “He said there cannot be one leader. If 11 players lead together and take responsibility for any mistake, then only we will progress. If we watch our games, we did everything aggressively and collectively.

“There’s not much restriction on what you can do and not. The instruction basically is to go out and express yourself, enjoy, and we will see about the result later.”

Specifically, with Nikhil, who made his India debut in June itself, Khalid demanded a no-nonsense approach as a defensive midfielder but left room to accept mistakes.

“My job as a No 6 was to be aggressive in the midfield and cut down spaces in front of the defence, while the midfielder next to me had more freedom to attack. In all teams, No 10 is very creative. My job was to cut down that creativity and cut down opportunities for the opponent teams. He had a rule that if you can’t understand anything, my door is always open. If I have played bad, then I can go and ask him how to improve.”

The workhorse midfielder also did not forget to thank his Punjab FC coaches, Staikos Vergetis and Panagiotis Dilmperis. It was under Vergetis that Prabhu started playing as a defensive midfielder for the first time in 2023, transitioning from the role of a centre-back, and earned his maiden India call-up earlier this year while playing under Dilmperis.

“I want to thank my coaches who made the transition successful. It’s in the same central area, but the position I play in now is at the heart of the team. As a centre-back, the running is not the same as that of a central defensive midfielder. The coaches helped me to make the transition, and Punjab FC gave me the opportunity to play as a central defensive midfielder. I am very grateful to the team for trusting me,” said Prabhu, who now aims to be a regular feature in the national team under coach Khalid.

“Last year, midway through the season, when Punjab was doing very well and were in the top 6 in ISL, I was expecting a call-up, but that didn’t come. I was sad and had a word with my parents,” Prabhu revealed while talking about his future plans. “They told me that it’s alright that you missed out now, but when the call-up comes, you will never leave the national camp.

“I want to be consistent as a national team player. My position shouldn’t change, I need to give consistent performances for the national team.”

Well, he will soon have another opportunity as Prabhu has been recalled to the national camp for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers against Singapore in October.