SAFF Championship 2021: India vs Bangladesh – Which team has a younger squad?

Both sides have young players in plenty in their respective 23-man squads…

When India will take on Bangladesh in their SAFF Championship opener on Monday there is likely to be an abundance of youthful exuberance on the pitch. If India have eight players who are 23 years or below it, their opponents boast of having 12 in the 23-man squad. 

Oscar Bruzon set his team up in a 4-4-2 formation against Sri Lanka and out of the 11, five of them were under-23. The youngest of them was Yeasin Arafat who is 18 and plies his trade at left-back for Saif SC in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Meanwhile, India’s youngest are Lalengmawia and Jeakson Singh who are 20 years old. 

Bangladesh have a young backline compared to India but against veteran campaigners like Sunil Chhetri, a bit more experience might have been more preferable. However, in midfield, it is more of an even battle, as both teams have an even mix of youth and experience. Jamal Bhuyan might be given the responsibility to keep an eye on Brandon Fernandes whereas youngsters like Suresh Singh Wangjam and Rakib Hossain might square off against each other. 

In the absence of Sandesh Jhingan, have to remain on their toes to contain the likes of Biplo Ahamed and Suman Reza. Reza, who is 26, has scored 10 goals in 23 matches in BPL for Uttar Baridhara SC and will be a handful for the Indian defenders. Let us now take a look at which team has a younger squad before they face off on Monday. 

INDIA

AGE

BANGLADESH

AGE

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu 29 Anisur Rahman Zico  24
Vishal Kaith 25 Sahidul Alam Sohel  29
Dheeraj Singh 21 Ashraful Islam Rana 33
Average Age 25 years Average Age 29 years

DEFENDERS

INDIA

AGE

BANGLADESH

AGE

Pritam Kotal 28 Topu Barman 26
Rahul Bheke  30 Bishwanath Ghosh 22
Chinglensana Singh 24 Rahmat Mia 21
Mandar Rao Dessai 29 Tariq Raikhan Kazi 20
Subhasish Bose 26 Riyadul Hasan Rafi 21
Seriton Fernandes 28 Yeasin Arafat 18
—— Rezaul Karim 34
——- Tutul Hossain Badsha 22
Average Age 28 years Average Age 23 years

MIDFIELDERS

INDIA

AGE

BANGLADESH

AGE

Udanta Singh 25 Sohel Rana 26
Brandon Fernandes 27 Jamal Bhuyan 31
Lalengmawia 20 Mohammad Hridoy 19
Anirudh Thapa 23 Saad Uddin 23
Sahal Abdul Samad 24 Rakib Hossain 22
Glan Martins 27 Atiqur Rahman Fahad 26
Jeakson Singh 20 —–
Suresh Singh 21 —–
Liston Colaco 22 —–
Yasir Mohammad 23 —–
Average Age 23 years Average Age 25 years

FORWARDS

INDIA

AGE

BANGLADESH

AGE

Manvir Singh 25 Biplo Ahamed 22
Rahim Ali 21 Mahbubur Rahman 22
Sunil Chhetri 37 Mohammad Ibrahim 24
Farukh Choudhary 24 Matin Miah 22
—– Suman Reza 26
—– Jewel Rana 25
Average Age 27 years Average Age 24 years

The average age of India squad: 26 years

The average age of Bangladesh squad: 24 years

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