I-League 2018: Mohun Bagan name Henry Kisekka, Abhishek Ambekar in squad, Akram Moghrabi and Cameron Watson left out
Mohun Bagan shortlisted a 25-member squad for the upcoming season after a disappointing end to the I-League in March this year. Many standout performers were left out of the squad including winger Nikhil Kadam, Saikh Faiaz and also foreign recruits like Cameroon Watson and Akram Moghrabi.
Among the big signing is Henry Kisekka, who stormed into the Indian circuit last season, when he played clinical for Gokulam Kerala, and even caused a few upsets. Britto Pankraskar, who played for relegated side Churchill Brothers, last year, also gave a nod to the Kolkata giants. Kim Kima and William Lalnunfela parted ways with Aizawl FC and headed towards the’ Kolkata Maidan.
Tirthankar Sarkar and Jiten Murmu, two of West Bengal’s top performers in their Santosh Trophy campaign last month were also roped in by the Mariners. Among the players who migrated from the cash-rich Indian Super League are Avinash Ruidas (Mumbai City FC), Darren Caldeira (ATK) and Amey Ganesh Ranawade (FC Goa).
After a promising start to the I-League, the Green and Maroon brigade finally settled for the third spot behind champions Minerva Punjab and runners-up NEROCA FC. The season was marked by the departure of I-League winning coach Sanjoy Sen, who resigned midway. Shankarlal Chakraborty took the responsibility for the rest of the season.
Mohun Bagan also disappointed in the Indian Super Cup losing to eventual champions Bengaluru FC in the semi-final. They have to regroup ahead of the Calcutta Football League because a lot of new faces are in the squad and will give them an opportunity to create an understanding amongst themselves ahead of next season’s I-League.
Although the Kolkata giants are facing a financial crisis and the salaries of quite a few players are pending, if everything goes as per plan, we will hopefully see the above-mentioned players in green and maroon jerseys in the future.
Contracted players for 2018-19 seasons:
Shilton Paul
Shankar Roy
Ricardo Cardozo
Mainak Akuli
Arijit Bagui
Amey Ganesh Ranawade
Kim Kima
Eze Kingsley
Abhishek Ambekar
Gurjinder Kumar
Brittoo Pankraskar
William Lalnunfela
Shilton D’Silva
Darren Caldeira
Moinuddin Khan
Yuta Kinowaki
Tirthankar Sarkar
Avinash Ruidas
Sourav Das
Pintu Mahata
Aser Parrick Dipanda Dicka
Henry Kisekka
Jiten Murmu
Azharuddin Mullick