Kolkata, Aug 17 (IANS): Chennaiyin FC (CFC) on Tuesday announced their squad for the 131st edition of the Durand Cup. The club will kick start their campaign against Army Red FT on Saturday in a Group C encounter.
Indian internationals Narayan Das, Rahim Ali and skipper Anirudh Thapa, alongside Edwin Vanspaul are some of the familiar faces in the squad. Defenders Vafa Hakhamaneshi, Fallou Diagne, midfielders Julius Düker, Rafael Crivellaro, and forwards Petar Sliskovic and Kwame Karikari round out the foreign line-up for the two-time Indian Super League champions.
New recruits Vincy Barretto, Ajith Kumar and Jiteshwor Singh will be eager to play for the club in competitive capacity for the first time, while youth players Senthamizh, Md Aqib and Chris White will get their first taste of senior-team .
Meanwhile, Mohammed Rafique, Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Sourav Das and Lijo Francis are all injured and out of action. They've started their recovery process and will be assessed in the coming weeks.
CFC's group at the Durand Cup also comprises Hyderabad FC, TRAU FC and NEROCA with all first-round games to be played out in Imphal, Manipur on August 26, September 1 and 5, respectively.
Chennaiyin FC squad:
Goalkeepers: Debjit Majumder, Samik Mitra, Devansh Dabas
Defenders: Narayan Das, Aakash Sangwan, Vafa Hakhamaneshi, Fallou Diagne, Gurmukh Singh, Md. Sajid Dhot, Ajith Kumar, Monotosh Chakladar, Md. Aqib, Reagan Singh, Salam Ranjan Singh
Midfielders: Rafael Crivellaro, Jiteshwor Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Edwin Vanspaul, Julius Düker, Jockson Dhas, Sajal Bag, Chris White
Forwards: Ninthoi Meetei, Vincy Barretto, Rahim Ali, Suhail Pasha, Petar Sliskovic, Kwame Karikari, Senthamizh, Jobby Justin