India were able to stitch a rag-tag final squad only on Friday and the team left for China on Sunday, leaving no time for the players to even have a training session together.
Pune FC staged a comeback 2-1 victory over title chasers East Bengal in an I-League Round 22 encounter at the Balewadi Sports Complex, in Pune on Monday.
The All India Football Federation named Mahindra United's Shanmugam Venkatesh as the player of the year.
India take Pakistan on Sunday in the first of a three-match series.
Having endured a topsy-turvy start to their campaign before a fine turnaround, seven-time champions India start as title favourites when they take on first-time finalists Nepal in the summit clash of the SAFF Championships, in Male, on Saturday.
The Indian football team broke a 12-year-old jinx of not winning a match away from home as they beat lower ranked Cambodia 3-2 in an international friendly in Phnom Penh.
AIFF plans to go ahead with the 2020-21 I-League season even if the clubs' star foreign recruits are unable to make it due to the coronavirus-forced travel restrictions.
All the results from the I-League and ISL matches played on Saturday
All the results from the I-League and ISL matches played on Thursday
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