Hockey India on Monday named a 27-member Indian men's team for the upcoming tour of Australia, which starts on April 6 in Perth.
The Indian team will be led by ace drag-flicker and defender Harmanpreet Singh, with Hardik Singh as the vice-captain.
The five-match tour will be a litmus test for the team in their preparations for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
The team also includes PR Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak, Suraj Karkera, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Jugraj Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Lalit Upadhyay, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Boby Singh Dhami, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Sanjay, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Amir Ali, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Jarmanpreet Singh and Amit Rohidas.
Chief coach Craig Fulton has opted to go with the almost entire core group in order to give players a chance to showcase their potential before the final 16-member team is selected for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
“This will be a very important tour for us as it will not only ascertain the level we are at and the areas we want to get better ahead of the Paris Olympics, but this is also an important tournament for the players,” Fulton said.
“We chose to go with the almost entire core group so that each player gets enough opportunity to showcase their full potential and also it is a good tour to test different combinations.”
Australia had won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, where India won bronze.
The Indian team will play their first game on April 6, followed by the second match on April 7.
After a short break, the remaining matches will be played on April 10, 12 and 13.
The Indian team for the Australia tour:
Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh (C), Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, Amir Ali
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh (VC), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Vishnukant Singh
Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Boby Singh Dhami, Araijeet Singh Hundal
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