NEW DELHI: India has picked a jumbo 26-member squad for the men’s Four-Nation hockey tour of South Africa this month to check out as many players as possible in the crucial Olympic year.
The tournament, which will mark the comeback of former captain Manpreet Singh after a break, will be played in Cape Town from January 22 with the other competing countries being France, the Netherlands and hosts South Africa.
The Indians will be led by Harmanpreet Singh, while FIH Player of the Year Hardik Singh will be his deputy.
“We are quite excited to get on with the season in the Olympic year with the South Africa tour where we will play quality teams,” said India chief coach Craig Fulton.
“We have chosen a big squad to give exposure to the players and it will also give me an opportunity to see some of them in competition mode ahead of the Pro League,” he added.
Youngsters Araijeet Singh Hundal and Boby Singh Dhami have been included following an impressive outing with the junior Indian side.
“We have a short camp in SAI, Bengaluru before we leave for the tour. We have also included two young players in the senior side, and it will be interesting to watch them adapt to the level we play,” the coach added.
Stalwart PR Sreejesh and Krishan Pathak will continue to do duty under the bar.
The squad:
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Pawan.
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Sumit, Sanjay, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem.
Midfielders: Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Hardik Singh (vc), Manpreet Singh.
Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Boby Singh Dhami.