Twin brothers Aimen, Azhar among 5 locals in Kerala Blasters XI vs Gokulam

Twin brothers Mohammed Aimen and Mohammed Azhar, academy graduates of Kerala Blasters FC, were in the starting XI for Kerala Blasters in their opening 2023 Durand Cup match against local rivals Gokulam Kerala FC on Sunday.

Identical twins Aimen and Azhar, who might give fans and opposition players alike some headaches in identifying and man-marking, are among five local players who have graduated to the first team from the KBFC academy.

Apart from the twins, local boys Sachin Suresh, Nihal Sudeesh, Bijoy Varghese, all of whom have come up from the KBFC academy, also found place in the starting XI.

For a club often criticised for not having enough local players, having five homegrown talents in the starting XI in a big match is a commendable feat.

Aimen and Azhar - From Lakshadweep to KBFC XI via Poland

The versatile Aimen plays mostly as a left winger and a centre forward, sometimes dropping to the midfield. Azhar is more of a box-to-box midfielder who can sometimes adapt to a more creative role. They have come into the XI replacing Vibin Mohanan, yet another academy product, and Rahul KP.

The brothers played for KBFC in last season's Durand Cup too, when the Kerala-based club fielded a reserve team. Aimen even scored a goal off Aimen's assist.

Following the brothers' exploits in the Durand Cup last season, they were called up to the main team but were dropped for the ISL season. The two of them went on a three-week training stint with Rakow Czestochow - a first division club in Poland - in November 2022.

Azhar and Aimen are Lakshadweep-born twins who moved to Kerala for their schooling and attended the trials for Kerala Blasters U15. They previously moved from Don Bosco FA to Kerala Blasters and moved up the ranks and went on to represent the yellow brigade in the Developmental League and Next Gen Cup.