India, March 24 -- White ear buds visible through the neatly pruned Afro, Hamza Choudhury entered the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here acknowledging greetings from the Bangladesh media contingent that has turned up in big numbers here on Monday. The conditions in Shillong would be more like Leicester, which he calls home, than Snanghat, the town in Sylhet his father does. Rubbing his hands and in a No.8 shirt, Choudhary went through the team's warm-up routine.

With his Premier League and Championship lineage, Choudhary has given Bangladesh's football the kind of fillip they had not thought was possible till the 27-year-old defensive midfielder took up citizenship. In a country where international football usually means deep divisions betwee...