India name squad for away leg of FIH Men's Hockey Pro League 2022-23

Harmanpreet Singh will lead the team while Hardik Singh will be his deputy.

Hockey India on Monday named a strong 24-member Indian Men’s Hockey Team for the next leg of the FIH Men's Hockey Pro League 2022-23 in Europe starting 26th May. In their previous outing in the prestigious League matches at home, India remained unbeaten against reigning World Champions Germany and Australia which helped them top the points table. In Europe, they will hope to continue their winning momentum as they take on the formidable Belgium and Great Britain in London followed by matches against the Netherlands and Argentina in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

This will be the team’s first outing under newly-appointed Chief Coach Craig Fulton while the team will continue to be led by ace drag-flicker and defender Harmanpreet Singh and Vice Captained by the prolific midfielder Hardik Singh.

The team features goalkeepers Krishan Bahadur Pathak. He returns to the squad after missing the home matches due to his wedding. He will be joined by PR Sreejesh in the goalpost while defenders list includes five penalty corner specialists in Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay and Mandeep Mor.

Manpreet Singh who was the cynosure of India's midfield will be seen in a new role, playing in India's backline along with Sumit and Gurinder Singh have also been named in the backline.

The midfield will be led by Vice Captain Hardik Singh along with Dilpreet Singh, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad. India’s forward line sees the return of Simranjeet Singh who last played for India at the Asia Cup Jakarta but had to return home midway due to injury issues.

He will be joined by a good mix of experienced and young set of strikers like Abhishek, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, S Karthi, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Raj Kumar Pal and Mandeep Singh.

Speaking about the team selection, Chief Coach Craig Fulton said, “I am pleased with the team we have selected for the upcoming Pro League tournament against Belgium, Holland, Great Britain and Argentina. Our current world ranking of 4th reflects the team's hard work and dedication post the World Cup. This tournament will be a great opportunity for us to compete against top-ranked teams and further improve our overall game. We are looking forward to the challenge and hope to have a strong finish to the pro league tournament.”

India men's hockey team squad for FIH Men's Hockey Pro League 2022-23

Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh

Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh (C), Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay, Mandeep Mor, Gurinder Singh

Midfielders: Hardik Singh (VC), Dilpreet Singh, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad

Forwards: Abhishek, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, S Karthi, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Mandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh

India men's hockey team's schedule and broadcast details for FIH Men's Hockey Pro League 2022-23

26th May: India Vs Belgium at 1900 hrs IST will be live on SS First

27th May: India Vs Great Britain at 2130 hrs IST will be live on SS First + Select 2SD + HD

2nd June: India Vs Belgium at 1900hrs IST will be live on SS First + Select 2SD + HD

3rd June: India Vs Great Britain at 1700 hrs IST will be live on SS First + Select 2SD + HD

7th June: India Vs Netherlands at 2300 hrs IST will be live on SS First + Select 2SD + HD

8th June: India Vs Argentina at 2030 hrs IST will be live on SS First + Select 2SD + HD

10th June: India Vs Netherlands at 2100 hrs IST will be live on SS First + Select 2SD + HD

11th June: India Vs Argentina at 2100 hrs IST will be live on SS First + Select 2SD + HD

The matches will also be live-streamed on fancode.com