On Friday, Defender Harmanpreet Singh was named the captain of the Indian squad for the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup, commencing on January 13, 2023, in Odisha. Defender Amit Rohidas will be his deputy.
Harmanpreet was also played as captain in recent series against Australia, where India lost the match by 1-4. On the other hand, Midfielder Manpreet Singh was the captain of the Indian team in the Tokyo Olympics where India won a historic bronze medal. This time he will be in the team not as captain as coach Graham Reid has handed the captain’s band to different players over time. Amit Rohidas has also led India in the past.
The squad for hockey World Cup was selected after two-day trials in SAI Centre in Bengaluru where a total of 33 players were put to test. The squad will feature highly experienced and young players who will represent India at the prestigious event.
A Hockey India selector told PTI,
“The team is purely picked on the basis of the current form and performance of players. There was no other criteria,”
In Men’s hockey world cup, Odisha, captain Harmapreet will lead the team’s defence alongside vice-captain Rohidas, Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, and Nilam Sanjeep Xess. The young player, Vivek Sagar Prasad will be seen playing in the midfield.
India Men’s Hockey Squad for World Cup 2023
- Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran.
- Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (Captain), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas (Vice-captain), Nilam Sanjeep Xess
- Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh.
- Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, and Sukhjeet Singh.
