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

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