ISL: Who will be SC East Bengal's probable captain this season?

Hero Indian Super League (ISL) outfit SC East Bengal have signed footballers who have the ability to be leaders on and off the pitch. Among the Indian recruits this season, footballers like Adil Khan, Arindam Bhattacharya, Raju Gaikwad, and Amarjit Singh Kiyam have previously shown their leadership capabilities during their stints at other Indian Super League or I-League outfits, irrespective of whether they have worn the arm-bands or not. Among the foreign players, Tomislav Mrcela and Amir Dervisevic are leading figures in their respective positions; defense and midfield.

As we come closer to the start of the eighth edition of the Hero Indian Super League, let's take a closer look at who shall be the probable skipper for a rejuvenated SC East Bengal this season.

Tomislav Mrcela

Starting with the rock-at-the-back for the Red and Golds this season, Tomislav Mrcela's presence at the heart of the defense is something that would keep his teammates relieved upfront as well as assure junior and inexperienced footballers like Sarineo Fernandes and Ankit Mukherjee to do their duties responsibly. On joining the club, he had stated, "I will look to add experience at the heart of the defense and take care of the locker room as well. The atmosphere within the team is very important and I will leave no stone unturned in doing what needs to be done for the team's benefit."

Hence, it may so happen that the SC East Bengal gaffer chooses his most reliable custodian at the back with leading the team onto the pitch.

Arindam Bhattacharya

The second probable name will be experienced shot-stopper, Arindam Bhattacharya. Arindam, a senior custodian towards whom the fans would be looking forward to being their main shot-stopper this season, started his career way back in 2007 with Churchill Brothers. He won the Hero ISL Golden Glove award in the previous edition of the ISL. A prolific shot-stopper may not be the suitable adjective for him as his presence under the sticks can provide comfort and confidence to the defenders. His commanding nature as the last man of defense may propel Manuel Diaz to hand him the captain's armband this season.

Adil Khan

The third name on the list would have surely been Adil Khan. A utility footballer of his standard who can play both as a central defensive midfielder as well as a central defender would increase the chances of him making it into the starting eleven and perhaps captaining the Kolkata giants for this season as well. The 33-year-old has quite a number of appearances for the Indian National side. Even in the Indian Super League, he has been able to deliver to the coach's plans for whichever side he has played for. It would be no wonder if the SC East Bengal team management look upon him as the probable candidate to captain this side full of junior footballers.

Raju Gaikwad

There is a long tradition prevalent at SC East Bengal, where on the day of Bar Puja (a puja held on the first day of the Bengali Calendar), the senior-most footballer (in terms of the number of years he has played for the club) would be announced as their captain for that particular season. However, this tradition fell apart since the 2018-19 season, when the Kolkata giants were a participant in the Hero I-League. If the new investors bring back the traditional format of selecting captains, only Raju Gaikwad would stand a chance to captain the outfit this season. Raju Gaikwad had played for SC East Bengal from 2011 to 2015 where he had 64 appearances for the club. He made his comeback in the previous edition of the Hero ISL when he was signed during the winter transfer window by the management.

Although the names given above are the probable candidates who can be wearing the arm-band this season, footballers like Amarjit Singh Kiyam, the former India U-17 captain who lead the team in the U-17 FIFA World Cup in 2017, and Amir Dervisevic, who was the club's first foreign recruit this season may well be deserving of the responsibility.

The club may follow their strategy of having multiple captains, or then have a seniority list amongst them, or the club may just have a captain and multiple vice-captains. The club will announce its captain along with the squad that will play in the Indian Super League which begins on November 19th.