Even as Hamza Choudhury remained confined within his ancestral home in Habiganj for most of yesterday before joining the national team camp in Dhaka in the night, the Sheffield United midfielder remained at the heart of the plans of the team and the expectations of the football aficionados of the country.

The 27-year-old footballer had arrived in Bangladesh on Monday morning and went straight to Snanghat village in Bahubol, Habiganj.

As Bangladesh team returned home from a 12-day camp in Saudi Arabia yesterday morning, coach Javier Cabrera was asked how he thought the presence of Hamza would impact Bangladesh's performance in the upcoming Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture against India in Shillong on March 25.

"Of course, it is a great strength to have Hamza, a player of English Premier League coming here [to represent Bangladesh]. He will make the difference [against India]," Cabrera told reporters at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

"It [Hamza's presence] will have a very big impact on the team for sure -- his leadership and his professionalism. I think he is also excited to play for the national team. Definitely something good will come."

The Spaniard, who is yet to meet the England-based midfielder, said that everyone in the team was eager to meet Hamza and begin planning for the India tie.

"Everyone is exited. All the players want to meet him and train with him. I have been in touch with him almost every week. I am looking forward to starting planning together on how to beat India."

With the inclusion of the Sheffield United midfielder, who nowadays plays mostly as a right-back, Cabrera believes Bangladesh have a 50-50 chance in the away fixture even as India have brought their legendary striker Sunil Chhetri back from retirement.

"It is interesting that Sunil Chhetri came back for the encounter, making everyone exited and motivated. India are a very strong team, but we are getting better and better. I'm expecting a 50-50 match." Cabrera said. "We have a lot of respect for the India team, playing either home or away. We do believe we already have a level and the inclusion of Hamza will definitely give an extra level."

Amid the excitement and expectation over Hamza's joining the team, the exclusion of Italy-based Fahamedul Islam sparked a bit of controversy, enraging football fans, with a group of them demonstrating in front of the BFF House chanting, "Bring back Fahamedul, stop syndicate in football."

Regarding the exclusion of Fahamedul, Cabrera said, "He has not travelled with us today. He has gone back to Italy but again, he has done a good job. It was good for us to have him. It has been good for him also to meet the players and the team. But for now, there are other players that are more ready. He is very young, so he needs a bit more time to adapt."

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that defender Shushanto Tripura and midfielder Papon Singha have been ruled out of the final squad due to injury.