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 |
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