Negeri Sembilan skipper Khairul Anuar Buhrom (left) with teammates after their arrival in the city late on Sunday for their AFC Club Cup match on Wednesday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: East Bengal have approached Doordarshan to broadcast live their AFC Cup match against Malaysia’s Negeri Sembilan on Wednesday.

They have even given a proposal that the telecast cost, around Rs 3.5 lakh according to an official, will be borne by the club. This is quite a unique proposal and Doordarshan’s reply is expected by Monday.

East Bengal are organising this match on their own, with organisational help from the IFA. Total costs are expected to touch Rs 8 lakh and the club is hopeful it will get the requisite sponsorship to break even.

The Malaysian team, an outfit playing in the second tier of their league, landed here on Sunday evening via Chennai and promptly acknowledged they have a tough job on their hands.

“East Bengal are one of the strongest teams in this group. They play as a unit and have a good attack and midfield. We will be happy to return with a point from this game,” said coach K. Devan.

Negeri, from the city of Serembn some 45 km from Kuala Lumpur, have three national team players in their ranks but one of them — defender B. Rajni — has not been able to come here due to immigration problems.

They have three new Nigerian recruits, including a goalkeeper, and striker Duke Epyong scored a hattrick in Negeri’s 5-0 win over a Maldives club in their AFC Cup opener at home.

The coach thinks Bhaichung Bhutia will be a force to contend with. They had seen the Indian captain in action during his stint with Perak FC in Malaysia last year.

“He is certainly one of the best strikers in South East Asia,” the coach said. His club, though playing in the second division, won the Malaysian Cup last year, competing against the top-division teams.

Devan said his team has not been able to collect video clippings of matches featuring East Bengal. “But we have spoken to the Perak FC coach who saw East Bengal in action at the ASEAN Cup in Jakarta.”

He added defence is the strength of his team and skipper Khairul Anuar Buhrom, who plays for the national team, is one of his key players. Midfielder Anuar Jusuh is the other player who plays for the national side. Besides them, Negeri have four players from the national Olympic team.

There are 18 teams in the Malaysian second division — called the Premier League. Negeri lost out on a berth in the top-flight Super League featuring eight teams last year following a defeat in the final play-off.

But the fact that they won the Malaysian Cup last year to qualify for this competition means they are not a team to be taken for granted. East Bengal, however, feel they have crossed the biggest hurdle in this group — in Singapore against Geylang United.