New Delhi: Hockey India on Tuesday named a 24-member men’s squad for the upcoming matches against World No.2 Australia in the FIH Hockey Pro League to be held on Friday and Saturday at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
The team, which recently climbed to No. 4 in the world rankings, will be lead by Manpreet Singh with Harmanpreet Singh serving as deputy. After having faced World Champions Belgium earlier this month where the team produced a 2-1 win in the first match, and then lost 2-3 in the second match, the 24-member squad consists of goalkeepers P.R. Sreejesh and Krishan Pathak, with outfielders Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Gurinder Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh also part of the squad which is going to face Australia.
Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Hardik Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Akashdeep Singh, Sumit, Lalit Upadhyay, Gursahibjit Singh, Dilpreet Singh, SV Sunil, Jarmanpreet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Nilakanta Singh, and Ramandeep Singh, are all part of the 24-member squad.
Speaking about the team, chief coach Graham Reid said: “After having two high intensity matches against the World Champions, we will be facing another strong team in Australia.
“We have again gone with a strong group of players who can provide us with a good balance throughout the field, and help us in competing against one of the best teams in the world.”
