ISL: Kerala Blasters’ strongest XI

Sachin Tendulkar co-owns the Kerala franchise

Sportskeeda continues this new series of looking at the strongest eleven on paper of each of the eight city franchises in the Indian Super League. Today we focus on Kerala Blasters, which is co-owned by Sachin Tendulkar while former England goalkeeper David James is the player-manager.

Formation: 4-4-2

GK: David James – Although he announced his retirement last year, the Kerala Blasters player-manager still looks in better physical shape than the two other keepers – Sandip Nandy and Luis Barreto. At 44, the former England custodian is well past his peak but could still turn out to be one of the best goalkeepers of the ISL’s inaugural season.

RB: Cedric Hengbart – The 34-year-old has plenty of experience of playing in the French Ligue 1 for clubs like Caen, Auxerre, and Ajaccio. Hengbart is comfortable in possession and thus can be a real threat while overlapping. The Frenchman was the sixth pick of Kerala Blasters during the international draft last month.

CB: Nirmal Chettri – Although he has mostly been playing at right back in recent years, the Sikkimese could be seen returning to central defence, a position where he started his professional career. There are high expectations from Nirmal as he is one of the costliest Indian players and he will be delighted to have former coach Trevor Morgan in the Kerala Blasters coaching staff.

CB: Colin Falvey – The Irishman is still only 29 and has joined the Blasters on loan from USA third-tier club Charleston Battery. Falvey will add solidity and physical presence at the heart of the Kerala team’s defence. Being a much travelled footballer, having played in New Zealand also, Falvey will be expected to adapt quickly to the Indian conditions.

LB: Jamie McAllister – The Scotsman might be 36 and has a role in the coaching staff also but on paper he is undoubtedly Kerala’s best left back. McAllister is also the most high-profile defender in the Kerala franchise team as he has played in the Scottish Premier League with Aberdeen and Hearts. He will be big influence both on and off the pitch.

RM: Sushant Matthew – Although Kerala have natural wide players like Renedy Singh and Avinabo Bag, to provide them balance in midfield they need the workrate and tenacity of Sushant Matthew. The Kerala lad is reunited with Morgan, who brought the best out of him in a wide role while at East Bengal and thus Matthew will be aiming for similar stint in the ISL.

CM: Mehtab Hossain – The midfield general will be one of the first names of the team sheet and thus will have plenty of responsibility on his shoulders. Mehtab didn’t play much in the Calcutta Football League so he will have to get his sharpness quickly in the ISL and his franchise would hope that he doesn’t get injured on international duty.

CM: Penn Orji – The Nigerian is another player who will get to play under Morgan after three highly successful seasons together at East Bengal. Penn is a proven talent in Indian football and he would be looking to enhance his reputation during the ISL. Penn’s ability to dictate play and run with the ball from midfield makes him highly dangerous.

LM: Ishfaq Ahmed – The Kashmiri has never been shy of expressing that his performance levels goes up by two or three notches when he gets to train and play under Morgan. So one can expect a strong season from Ishfaq, who is not only capable of creating goals but is a real athlete and thus can help out the team immensely without the ball also.

CF: CS Sabeeth – The Kerala-born striker looked in decent form in the Calcutta Football League for Mohun Bagan and has been among the goals in the practice games for the Blasters. Sabeeth will face plenty of competition for a starting berth but may get the nod as other positions may get filled up by foreigners, thus completing the quota of six.

CF: Michael Chopra – The former Newcastle United and Sunderland striker has been vocal about his excitement to play on Indian soil so that will also bring a lot of pressure. Chopra has the quality and experience to deal with that but he will be judged on his goals return so the 30-year-old will be determined to be prolific.