The inclusion of OCI and PIO (Players of Indian Origin) has been a topic of debate in Indian football ever since Stephen Constantine spoke about the need for India to go down that route.
The team is currently in Dubai where they are preparing to face the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday.
Stimac said the team was starting from the scratch after disruption by COVID-19 pandemic and added that he would not expect much from them in the two matches.
India play Oman and UAE in Dubai on March 25 and 29 respectively -- their first matches after more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stimac, who coached Croatia to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014, further referred to the Indian team's improvement in recent times since switching to the formation.
Stimac says that the 4-2-3-1 formation which he prefers is the "best system for Indian football".
India's no.1 goalkeeper remembers how coach Igor Stimac stirred national team to historic 0-0 draw against Qatar in FIFA World Cup qualifiers last year
AIFF President Praful Patel talked to Indian coaches via video conference.
The Indian team is out of the reckoning for a 2022 World Cup berth but Stimac said the country will have a chance to qualify for the 2026 edition.
The former Mohun Bagan coach made it clear that while he would not wish to argue against the comments of the technical committee, it is unfair to judge Stimac after just nine games at the top level.
Bhutia's comment comes as a huge boost for the coach after AIFF's Technical Committee made its displeasure known over the Stimac's performance in the games against Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The Indian team has been competitive in all five games thus far, and picked up an unlikely draw away to Asian champions Qatar, but a lack of cutting edge has proved costly.
Chhetri is currently the second-highest international goal scorers among active players, only behind Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
In search of their first win in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Blue Tigers take on Oman in the return leg at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Stimac's side had lost 1-2 in the first leg in Guwahati in September.
The squad is currently undergoing a training camp at the HTC Sports Academy ground in the national capital.
Anirudh Thapa, 21, has lately been integral to Igor Stimac's vision for the Indian team and is a regular starter under the Croatian.
India missed their star defender Sandesh Jhingan sorely as a judgmental error from Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saw Bangladesh go 1-0 up in the 42nd minute through a Saad Uddin header.
With Indian Super League (ISL) set to begin on October 20 followed by the I-League most of the players will be out to represent their respective franchises and Stimac is worried that he won't get enough players for the camp.
"We'll need to work on set-pieces, combinations and choose the best eleven for the game. The entire squad is extremely excited. Thank you Kolkata for your response," Stimac said.
Igor Stimac announced the 23-member squad for the FIFA World Cup qualifier match against Bangladesh on October 15.
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