Chennai, Sep 23 (IANS) Chennaiyin FC have announced their squad for the 2023-24 Indian Super League season.

The 29-member squad features a blend of experienced players and promising young talents that underlines Chennaiyin’s philosophy of nurturing and developing the country’s young players to contribute to the growth of Indian football.

“Our model at Chennaiyin is different from those big spenders. We obviously invest where we can, but it’s more in young players. And I’ve been known to give young players a chance and develop young Indians and that’s what I’ll continue to do. We’ve got a good mix,” Chennaiyin head coach Owen Coyle said ahead of the club’s opening match of the ISL 2023-24 against Odisha FC, scheduled to be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

The club has decided to name a six-man leadership group to be the driving force behind the squad. The captain’s armband will be circulated among Jordan Murray, Ryan Edwards, Aakash Sangwan, Lazar Cirkovic, Rafael Crivellaro and Rahim Ali.

Two-time champions are scheduled to kickstart their ISL 2023-24 campaign with two away matches — Odisha FC (today) and NorthEast United FC (September 29) — before  they return home to host Mohun Bagan Super Giant FC on October 7 in their third game of the season.

Squad:
Goalkeepers: Samik Mitra, Debjit Majumder, Prateek Kumar Singh, Mohanraj K

Defenders: Ankit Mukherjee, Ryan Edwards Lazar Cirkovic, Ajith Kumar, Bikash Yumnam, Bijay Chhetri, Aakash Sangwan, Sarthak Golui, Sachu Siby and RS Preyarhanjan

Midfielders: Jiteshwor Singh, Cristian Battocchio, Mohammed Rafique, Ayush Adhikari, Rafael Crivellaro, Ninthoi Meetei, Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Sourav Das, Farukh Choudhary and Nesta JP Colin

Forwards: Vincy Barretto, Rahim Ali, Irfan Yadwad, Jordan Murray and Connor Shields