Harmanpreet Singh was on Tuesday appointed as the captain of the 22-member Indian men’s hockey team for the FIH Pro League matches against Spain and New Zealand in Bhubaneswar. Manpreet Singh has been appointed as the vice-captain. India will start their campaign against New Zealand on 28 October and then take on Spain on 30 October.
The Indian team will play its second matches against New Zealand on November 4 and against Spain on November 6. Head coach Graham Reid said in a release, “We continue to hone the leadership skills of more and more players in the team and hence Harmanpreet Singh has been appointed as the captain for the first four matches. The team also includes two newcomers in the form of Mohammad Rahil Mousin and S Karti.
Reid said, “We have selected an experienced team for the first two matches of the Pro League.” The team includes goalkeeper Krishna Bahadur Pathak and PR Sreejesh. Jarmanpreet Singh, Surendra Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor and Neelam Sanjeev Jess have been selected in the defense line. Sumit, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Rajkumar Pal and Mohd Raheel Mauseen will take charge of the middle row. The front row consists of Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Abhishek, S Karti and Sukhjit Singh. All matches will take place at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, which will also host the Men’s World Cup in January next year.
