Kolkata, March 21 : seven new faces feature in the 25-member senior India men’s squad announced on Monday for two friendly matches in Bahrain later this month. Head coach Igor Stimac announced the squad which will be playing against host Bahrain on March 23, and Belarus on March 26 in friendlies. The new faces are Prabhshukhan Gill, Hormipam Ruivah, Anwar Ali, Roshan Singh, VP Suhair, Danish Farooq and Aniket Yadav. “We are playing Bahrain and Belarus, and they are better-ranked sides than us. But whatever the rankings are, you need to do it on the pitch. Bahrain will show us where we stand. We will give chances to some young players who have played well in the Hero ISL this season to see how much we can use them for the qualifiers in June,” Igor Stimac said. The international friendlies are a part of the team’s preparation for the final round of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifying matches which will be held in Kolkata from June 8. India have been clubbed in Group D along with Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia. 24 teams have been divided into six groups and the group winners, and the five best 2nd placed teams will earn a ticket to the Asian Cup in China. Following is the squad: Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh and Prabhsukhan Gill. Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Seriton Fernandes, Rahul Bheke, Hormipam Ruivah, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Chinglensana Singh, Subhasish Bose, Akash Mishra and Roshan Singh. Midfielders: Bipin Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Pronay Halder, Jeakson Singh, Brandon Fernandes, VP Suhair, Danish Farooq, Yasir Mohammad and Aniket Jadhav. Forwards: Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco and Rahim Ali. PC SSP