Hockey India named a 22-member Indian Men's Hockey Team that will take on Germany in the upcoming FIH Men's Hockey Pro League double-header starting on April 14 here at the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium. The Indian team will be captained by Amit Rohidas and his deputy is going to be Harmanpreet Singh.
The 22-member squad includes goalkeepers PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, and defenders Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh and Gurinder Singh.
The midfield will see Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Hardik Singh, and Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh while the forward line will feature Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Mandeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Akashdeep Singh.
Speaking about the team, Chief Coach Graham Reid said, "This year's FIH Pro League has provided us with great opportunities to try different combinations and tactics. We have recognised what works and, more importantly, what areas we need to improve on. This week against Germany is the last leg of our home games for this year and we are looking forward to two more world-class encounters once again. Germany is always an extremely tough opponent and given where we both are on the ladder it will be important for us to finish this week with as many points as possible to remain at the top of the points table."
The Indian Team has thus far played ten matches in this season of FIH Hockey Pro League. The team is currently placed on top of the table with 21 points, while Germany is placed in second place with 17 points in 8 games. The Indian team has beaten South Africa at home (10-2, 10-2) while they won a game and lost a game each against France (5-0, 2-5) which was also held in South Africa. At home, India won a game and lost one to Spain (5-4, 3-5), won one game 4-3 and lost one 2-2 (1-3 SO) against Argentina, and recently, won both their games against England, 3-3 (3-2 SO) and 4-3.
( With inputs from ANI )
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