Kolkata, Aug. 26 -- There were no surprises in Khalid Jamil's first interaction with the media and the first set of India players he named as head coach, both of which happened on Monday. India will play the CAFA Nations Cup with little time to prepare and without the seven Mohun Bagan Super Giant players, but Jamil decided not to make a big deal of either. "It is a big challenge for me. I have got what I wanted. For me now the task is to deliver," said Jamil in Bengaluru, where India have been training for the past 10 days. "Let us go step by step. The matches will give us an idea of where we need to improve and will help us in the three qualifiers (of the 2027 Asian Cup)." Hosts Tajikistan and Iran, two of the opponents in the CAFA Nations Cup, are higher in the FIFA rankings and Jamil said it was good that they were playing stronger teams. India open against Tajikistan on Friday, play Iran on Sept 1 and Afghanistan three days later in Group B in Hisor. Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Oman are in the other group. Mohun Bagan did not release players because the tournament does not start in the FIFA window and the club is preparing to play the AFC Champions League 2 main round, making it difficult. But Jamil said, "we have not missed them. I thought it would be difficult because we do not have much time but the attitude of the players has been very good. I never felt like we are very weak." The uncertainty around the Indian Super League (ISL) season has not affected the players, said Jamil. "They know that when they go in they have to perform." Jamil, 48, is the only Indian head coach to have made the ISL semi-finals. The former India midfielder did with NorthEast United in 2019-20 and with Jamshedpur FC in 2024-25. He also took Jamshedpur FC to the Super Cup final last term....