Last year's finalists Kerala Blasters has announced the squad for the season opener against East Bengal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.Jessel Carneiro will captain the team. Long-term extensions for several players will help the club keep its core group of players intact, with as many as 16 players from last season making the list again.
With last year's star strikers Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Alvaro Vazquez leaving the club, all eyes are on how head coach Ivan Vukomanovic, who got an extension after the wonderful performance last year, will use his new foreign signings – Dimitrios Diamantakos, Apostolos Giannou, Victor Mongil and Ivan Kaliuzhnyi. He will also have last season's heroes Adrian Luna and Marko Leskovic. The 28-man squad will have seven Malayali players - Rahul KP, Sahal Abdul Samad, Sreekuttan, Sachin Suresh, Nihal Sudeesh, Vibin Mohanan and Bijoy Varghese.Giannou is the only international AFC player in the squad.One of the most popular clubs in the country, the Blasters will be hoping to win its maiden title this time, having fallen at the final hurdle thrice.
Goalkeepers: Prabhsukhan Gill, Karanjit Singh, Muheet Shabbir, Sachin Suresh.
Defenders: Ruivah Hormipam, Victor Mongil, Marko Leskovic, Sandeep Singh, Bijoy Varghese, Nishu Kumar, Jessel Carneiro, Harmanjot Khabra.
Midfielders: Jeakson Singh, Ivan Kaliuzhnyi, Lalthathanga Khawlhring, Ayush Adhikari, Saurav Mandal, Adrian Luna, Sahal Abdul Samad, Bryce Brian Miranda, Vibin Mohanan, Nihal Sudeesh, Givson Singh.
Forwards: Dimitrios Diamantakos, Rahul KP, Apostolos Giannou, Bidyashagar Singh, Sreekuttan MS.