New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS): Dabang Mumbai are keen to start off with a win in the opening game of the fourth edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) under the mentorship of new coach Jay Stacy.
After a forgettable last season, Dabang Mumbai would hope to revive their fortunes to make up for the disappointments of 2015 when they finished at the bottom of the six-team table.
The six-team annual franchise-based tournament will see the Mumbai team begin their 2016 campaign against Kalinga Lancers at Bhubaneswar on January 21.
The Dabang Mumbai squad is a perfect mix of talented national and international players belonging to Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, England and the Netherlands. The team has appointed Australian and former Olympian Stacy as the new chief coach.
The squad will see Krishan Pathak, David Harte and Xavi Trenchs guard the goal posts while Harmanpreet Singh, Gurmail Singh, Jeremy Hayward and Andrew Philpott will form the defensive wall of the team.
Nilakanta Sharma, Danish Mujtaba, Vikas Sharma, Tyron Pereira and Manpreet will form the midfield while the forward line will see Roshan Minz, Affan Yousuf, Chandanda Thimmaiah, Gurjant Singh, Florian Fuchs, John Bjorkman. Some of the positions will be covered interchangeable by Matthew Swann (defender/midfielder) and Dylan Wotherspon (midfielder/forward).
The team has appointed former India skipper Viren Rasquinha as the strategic advisor and chief mentor.