Sachin Tendulkar announced the Kerala Blasters squad for the Indian Super League (ISL) 2015 on Wednesday. The former Indian batting legend came down to Kerala just for the event and met the Chief Minister of the State, Oommen Chandy, as well. Tendulkar, who co-owns the Kerala Blasters franchise, also was happy to announce the team's title sponsor, Muthoot Pappachan Group.
Tendulkar stated that he wants the team to win the ISL this year. In the first season of the ISL in 2014, Kerala Blasters finished as the runners-up after losing the final to Atletico de Kolkata. But in the upcoming edition of the ISL, they want to go all the way.
"I'm very sure that this year we would like to go out and better our performance than last year. Kerala Blasters are happy but not satisfied with their performance and there is always room for improvement and we will continue to get better. I can't forget the fans who made our journey so special. I would like to make a request to all fans, continue to love us, continue to support us, we value your support," Tendulkar said at the event.
Kerala Blasters are training hard ahead of the ISL 2015. They have been adding important players to their squad to bolster their side ahead of the second edition of the ISL. Their marquee signing for this year will be the former Spanish international defender Carlos Marchena. They will be playing the first match of ISL 2015 against North East United FC. The match will be played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on 6 October.
Here's the Kerala Blasters squad for ISL 2015:
Head Coach: Peter Taylor
Coach: Trevor Morgan
Asst. Coach: Ishfaq Ahmed
Forwards: Mohammed Rafi, CK Vineeth, Chris Dagnall, Antonio Timothy German, Sanchez Watt, Manandeep Singh
Midfielders: Mehtab Hossain, Victor Herreco Forcada, Joao Coimbra, Cavin Lobo, Peter Carvalho, Shankar Sampingiraj, Josue Currais Prieto
Defenders: Carlos Marchena, Peter Ramage, Marcus Williams, Bruno Perone, Gurwinder Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Saumik Dey,
Goalkeepers: Sandip Nandy, Stephen Bywater, Shilton Paul.
