New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS): Hockey India on Tuesday named the 23-member Indian Men's Hockey Team for the upcoming Tour of Australia, set to begin from November 26 in Adelaide.
The Indian team will play five matches against Australia as they prepare for the upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023, set to begin from January 13.
Experienced dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh has been named the Captain of the team, while Amit Rohidas has been picked as the Vice-Captain for the upcoming matches. In the forward line, Mandeep Singh has been included along with Dilpreet Singh, Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh.
Gurjant Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Mohd. Raheel Mouseen, Rajkumar Pal, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, and Sumit have been included in the midfield line-up for the tour.In the defence, Varun Kumar makes a return to the team after missing out on action during the FIH Men's Hockey Pro League 2022/23 matches against New Zealand and Spain at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor, and Nilam Sanjeep Xess form the remaining defence line-up.
Speaking about the team, Indian Men's Hockey Chief Coach Graham Reid said, "The upcoming tour to Australia is a good opportunity for us to test ourselves against one of the top contenders at the upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023. We have picked a solid line of experienced players who we believe can help us in getting the desired results. We have also infused the team with a blend of youngsters to give them exposure of top-level competition and test the depth of our squad."
Indian Men's Team:
Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Amit Rohidas (V/C), Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Varun Kumar
Midfielders: Sumit, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Mohd. Raheel Mouseen, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh
Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh