Adil Khan looking forward to many more clean sheets with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sandesh Jhingan

Khan said that he was lucky to have the likes of Sandesh and Gurpreet help him.

“I am lucky to have such teammates in the national team. Unfortunately, we can’t play in an ISL team together but in the national team, we make a great defensive wall for India,” said Khan.

Speaking about the bond he shares with his centre-back partner, the defender from Goa said, “In the national team, we started training together and that’s when we started building our bond to know each other well.

“He is very loud. He guides all the players, and me being senior, I still give him the opportunity to talk because he is louder than me and he guides well,” said khan.

“I also know how powerful and strong he is. Whenever I make mistakes I know he is there to cover up and I think it’s the same for him. I would like to play more matches with him. I feel more secured while he’s around as a central defender.”

He also spoke about the calming presence that the 6ft 5in Gurpreet brings to the Indian goal.

“To have him in the team it’s a security and you know if you make any mistakes, he is there to cover-up,” Khan said.

“We have seen the best performance from him against Qatar. His attitude and positivity was amazing. He will be one of the best goalkeepers that India will see in the coming years.”

The 32-year-old stated that though he has been an admirer of David Beckham for long, following the game of former Blue Tigers defender Mahesh Gawali helped him a lot.

“I used to follow David Beckham, in my younger days, but since I started playing as a defender, Mahesh Gawali-bhai has been my idol. For so many years, he was one of the greatest defenders I have seen in India,” said Khan.

“So calm, so talented, and a great person. I am one of his biggest fans. I met him a couple of months back before lockdown and he is still fit enough to play top level football.”

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