ATK Mohun Bagan & Bengaluru FC in the Fray in 2021 AFC Cup
The QuintATK Mohun Bagan are direct entrants to the group stage of the AFC Cup 2021 by virtue of being winners of the I-League 2019/20, after their agreement to form a joint venture, and will be confident of making a mark on the continental stage and move forward together. ATK remember is likely to be without Sandesh Jhingan, who according to reports is set to play in Europe, in Croatia with top division club HNK Sibenik. Bengaluru FC earned their AFC Cup 2021 Preliminary Round 2 entry by virtue of a third-place finish in the Indian Super League's league phase in 2019/20 and defeated Nepal's Tribhuvan Army FC 5-0 in April 2021 to enter the play-off round. The teams in Group D will face off against each other in a single-leg round-robin format across three matchdays -- August 18, 21 and 24, with all matches being held in the Maldives.