The Indian men’s hockey team will be led by veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh, while drag-flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh will be his deputy as it prepares to take on Spain in the FIH Men’s Pro League matches here on February 26 and 27.
Hockey India on Tuesday announced a 20-man squad with a fresh face in the form of promising forward Sukhjit Singh. The youngster from Punjab was selected in the core group after an impressive stint with Punjab National Bank during the 1st Hockey India Senior Men Inter-Department National Championship 2021 held in Bengaluru.
The 20-man squad for the double-header against Spain also includes goalkeeping legend PR Sreejesh, midfielders Vivek Sagar Prasad and Jaskaran Singh and forward Shilanand Lakra.
Additionally, Krishna Bahadur Pathak, Amit Rohidas, Rajkumar Pal, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh and Dilpreet Singh have been named as standbys.
India head coach Graham Reid said Spain are touring India under a new coach and would be keen to impress after losing to England.
“We have picked a balanced group to play Spain for this weekend and are looking forward to playing at home in Bhubaneswar. This includes yet another debutante striker Sukhjit Singh, who impressed during the selection camp last month and has been working hard ever since his selection in the main prospects’ group.
“Spain have a new coach and will be eager to impress after losing to England. These games are an important step in preparing for a very busy year,” Reid said.
Shaft:
Goalkeeper: PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera.
Protector: Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Mor, Surendra Kumar, Varun Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Deepson Tirkey.
Midfielder: Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Hardik Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Shamsher Singh, Neelkant Sharma, Akashdeep Singh.
Ahead: Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Shilanand Lakra, Sukhjit Singh, Abhishek.
Stan by: Krishna Bahadur Pathak, Amit Rohidas, Rajkumar Pal, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Dilpreet Singh.
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