FIH Pro League: Manpreet Singh to lead 24-member team India against world No 1 Belgium

The Indian hockey team will be led by Manpreet Singh for the upcoming FIH Pro League matches against world no.1 Belgium.

A 24-member team which was announced on Monday also includes lone newcomer Raj Kumar Pal.

Harmanpreet Singh will be the vice-captain in the matches which will take place on February 8 and 9 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

The seasoned P R Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh are also part of the squad.

“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,” chief coach Graham Reid told PTI. 

“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,” Reid added.

Squad: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Manpreet Singh, 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, SV Sunil.