The 32-year-old represented Australia at the 2013 FIFA Under-20 World Cup and earned a senior cap in a 2019 friendly against Korea Republic, playing for 17 minutes.

Williams began his professional career in 2011 in the EFL Championship, playing for Portsmouth, Rotherham United and Oxford United, among others, before joining Perth Glory in 2022 and Bengaluru in 2023.

He was named Bengaluru's player of the season last season.

With Anglo-Indian ancestry through his India-born mother, he qualified for an Indian passport after a lengthy process of around two years.

India does not allow dual citizenship, so Williams had to give up his Australian passport.

"One of the things my grandfather, who passed away, said was, 'Please go and play in India.' The process [of obtaining the passport] was difficult, but the decision was not," Williams told The Times of India.

"There's more than just a little bit of history. My mother was born here, my grandparents, my great grandparents too. My grandmother has an old scrapbook with all the pictures ... It feels like a bit of a full circle."

Williams is expected to receive a call-up from national team coach Khalid Jamil ahead of the final round of 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, with India set to face neighbour Bangladesh on 19 November (AEDT).

"It's something that my family and I thought about a lot. Making a debut for the national team is the proudest moment for any professional footballer. I've been waiting so long for this moment," Williams said.