India will play Bangladesh in the Asian Cup qualifiers in Dhaka on November 18. Former Australian winger Ryan Williams has been called up to the Indian national team camp for this match. Defender Avneet Bharti, who played in the Bolivian league, has also been called up to the camp.

An All India Football Federation (AIFF) source told ESPN that there are still some formalities to be done in Williams’ case. The AIFF is currently waiting for a no objection certificate (NOC) from Football Federation Australia. Once they receive the NOC, they will officially announce Williams’ call-up to the national team. The Indian football body is hopeful that it will be done this week.

The 32-year-old Williams was born and raised in Perth, Australia. He also made his national team debut for Australia’s age group in 2019. He made his debut in a friendly match against South Korea in June of that year. However, Williams has not played for Australia since then.

Williams left Perth Glory in 2023 and joined Bengaluru FC in India. ESPN has confirmed that he has been in the process of getting an Indian passport for over a year. He has also brought his family to Bengaluru. Williams has already given up his Australian passport to play for India. Because India does not allow dual citizenship. Now, if he gets a no-objection certificate from Football Australia, he will be officially declared an Indian player.

Williams’ mother is from Mumbai. His twin brother Arin also expressed his desire to play for India in 2017. Although he did not stay in India for long.
Meanwhile, 27-year-old defender Avneet Bharti has been called up for the Indian team’s camp. This Indian-origin player, born in Nepal, now plays for Academia del Balompié, a first division team in the Bolivian league. The 6-foot-1 defender has been called up for trials.

India started its camp in Bengaluru today ahead of the Bangladesh match. Williams and Avneet were not on the list of footballers called up for the camp yesterday. Today, it was reported that these two have also been called up. AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey was quoted in Indian media as saying, “We came to know about Avneet Bharti through the Indian embassy in Brazil. He is a very talented defender. We had to be patient with Ryan Williams. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandavya and his ministry must be given credit. They have helped a lot. If these two footballers can live up to expectations in the national team camp, they will also play in Dhaka.”

Star striker Sunil Chhetri did not make it to India’s camp this time. Chhetri, who returned to the field after retiring before the match against Bangladesh in March, was not called up by new head coach Khalid Jamil.