Hockey India announce team for FIH Pro League matches against Spain, NL

Hockey India on Tuesday named the 22-member Indian Men's Hockey Team for the upcoming double-header matches against Spain and New Zealand in the season opener of FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-2023 to be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. India is scheduled to take on New Zealand when they begin their campaign on October 28 and in their second match, India will take on Spain on October 30.

In the following week, India will play their second tie against New Zealand on November 4 and play Spain on November 6, as per a release from Hockey India. All matches will be held at 1900 hours at the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium, which will also host the most-awaited FIH Odisha Men's Hockey World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela in January 2023. The Indian team will be led by Captain Harmanpreet Singh and he will be ably assisted by the experienced midfielder Manpreet Singh. The team will also see some fresh faces in Mohd Raheel Mouseen, who was part of India's victorious outing in the FIH Hockey 5's earlier this year and S Karthi, who played his maiden tournament for India at the Asia Cup Jakarta.

The team includes goalkeepers Krishan Bahadur Pathak and PR Sreejesh. Among defenders Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor and Nilam Sanjeep Xess have been selected. Midfielders Sumit, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Rajkumar Pal and Mohd Raheel Mouseen have been picked to represent India. In the forward line S Karthi has been credited for his performance in the Asia Cup held in Jakarta earlier this year. He will play alongside experienced forwards Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh. Talking about the team, Chief Coach Graham Reid said: "We have chosen an experienced squad to play the first two rounds of Pro League starting this weekend in Bhubaneswar. Given that, we also have two new players playing in the Pro League.""Mohammed Raheel will make his debut in the 11-a-side format after strong performances including Leading Goal Scorer and Player of the Tournament at the FIH 5's tournament in Lausanne in June and at the recent National Games in Rajkot. S. Karthi is also making a return after his impressive debut at the Asia Cup earlier this year. He is a strong bustling striker with a powerful shot at goal, who has a presence in the circle, important against the strong European and Oceania nations."Reid also emphasized on increasing the leadership skills of the group and thus chose Harmanpreet to lead the side for these matches. "We are continuing to expand the leadership skills of the group with Harmanpreet Singh being selected as Captain for these first four games," Reid added. Indian Men's Team:

Goalkeepers: 1. Krishan Bahadur Pathak2. Sreejesh Parattu RaveendranDefenders: 3. Jarmanpreet Singh4. Surender Kumar5. Harmanpreet Singh (Captain)6. Amit Rohidas7. Jugraj Singh8. Mandeep Mor9. Nilam Sanjeep XessMidfielders: 10. Sumit11. Manpreet Singh (Vice - Captain)12. Hardik Singh13. Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh14. Shamsher Singh15. Nilakanta Sharma16. Rajkumar Pal17. Mohd. Raheel MouseenForwards: 18. S. Karthi19. Mandeep Singh20. Abhishek21. Dilpreet Singh22. Sukhjeet Singh.