Hockey India on Monday named its 24-member Indian men's squad for the upcoming matches against world number one Belgium in the FIH Hockey Pro League.
The team will be captained by Manpreet Singh along with vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh and also includes newcomer Raj Kumar Pal who was impressive in his stint with the India Colts team in the past season where they won a silver medal at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia.
PR Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh are also part of the squad.
Vivek Sagar Prasad, Chinglensana Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Shamsher Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Kothajit Singh, SV Sunil, Birendra Lakra, Gurjant Singh and Nilakanta Sharma will also be part of the 24-member squad.
Speaking about the team selected to take on World Champions Belgium, chief coach Graham Reid said, "The objective of these matches of the FIH Hockey Pro League is to find the balance between giving players opportunities for Olympic selection, working out our strongest combinations and continuing to demonstrate that we can compete with the best teams in the world."
Reid further stated, "Raj Kumar Pal has been rewarded for his outstanding form in the recent camps and named in the squad. He possesses extra-ordinary skills and speed, which if given the opportunity will excel against the World No.1 Belgium."
Indian squad: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh (vc), Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Manpreet Singh (c), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Chinglensana Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Dilpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Shamsher Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Kothajit Singh Kadangbam, Birendra Lakra, Nilakanta Sharma, Gurjant Singh, and SV Sunil.
India will take on Belgium in the FIH Hockey Pro League at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, Bhubaneswar on February 8 and 9.
( With inputs from ANI )