With three more days to the first match of the Indian Super League left, the Punjab FC announced their 27-member squad on Wednesday. The Shers, as they are called, will start their ISL campaign against Jamshedpur FC on February 21 in Jamshedpur but their first home game will be on March 9 in New Delhi against NorthEast United FC.
According to a statement, the Shers head into their third ISL campaign with a squad built to compete while staying true to their commitment to player development. Head Coach, Panagiotis Dilmperis, in his second season with the club has picked a squad, which has balance of youth and experience. He has maintained the core from the last ISL season and the team which played in the Durand Cup and AIFF Super Cup. Dani Ramirez, Samir Zeljkovic, Nsungusi Jnr Effiong, Bede Amarachi Osuji, Pablo Renan Dos Santos are the foreign signings of the squad.
The squad also comprises seven players from the academy, highlighting the importance of the youth structure within the club. Muhammad Suhail F, Pramveer Singh, Manglengthang Kipgen, Vishal Yadav and Singamayum Shami who have already made their senior team debuts will be joined by Ayush Deshwal and Thoungamba Singh Usham this season.
The Head Coach will be supported by assistant coach Konstantinos Katsaras and Indian assistant coach Sankarlal Chakraborty along with Papaioannou Ioannis as the strength and conditioning coach and Vinay Singh as the goalkeeping coach.
The goalkeeping department sees the arrival of Arshdeep Singh, whose presence adds assurance and leadership at the back. He is joined by Muheet Shabir and Ayush Deshwal, giving Punjab FC a well-rounded unit equipped to handle the demands of a long and competitive season.