Cardiff striker Michael Chopra is in Dubai
exploring the possibility of playing for India's national
team.
Chopra met with India coach Bob Houghton before watching their
friendly against Kuwait in Abu Dhabi.
He has strong Asian roots and qualifies under FIFA rules
courtesy of his Indian-born grandparents.
But regulations in India mean only players who possess an Indian
passport are allowed to represent their country, something he does
not have.
And the talks are merely tentative at this early stage and there
remains a lot of ground work to do should Chopra, who has
represented England up until Under-21 level, wish to play for the
nation ranked 144th in the world.
Should he do so then it could cause problems for Cardiff with
the Asian Cup on the horizon in January, which would potentially
rule the influential striker out of a number of npower Championship
matches.
India face United Arab Emirates in Dubai on Thursday but Chopra
will be back in south Wales by that stage preparing for Cardiff's
home clash against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Chopra's India connection comes in the wake of his Cardiff City
strike partner Jay Bothroyd being selected for the England
squad.
bbc