22-man hockey squad picked for Canada tour
The newly formed national hockey selection committee on Wednesday announced a 22-strong squad, sans a fixed captain, for an away seven-match Test series against Canada from next month.
Interestingly, the committee has not named any captain for the exposure trip and captaincy will rotate during the 2-25 October tour.
Sandeep Singh had led the Indian team to its 12-Test European tour recently.
The Canada tour will kick off on 9th October and will culminate on 24th October.
“This tour is part of Hockey India’s effort to provide comprehensive practice ahead of the Champions Challenge I Tournament at Salta, Argentina in December and further build up for the World Cup at New Delhi in February March next year,” a press release said.
Canada is currently ranked 11th in the FIH World Ranking one position ahead of India.
The Sqaud:
Goalkeepers: Adrian D’Souza and Sreejesh PR.
Defenders : Sandeep Singh, V Raghunath, Sardar Singh
Midfeilders: Gurbaj Singh, Vikram Pillay, Dhananjay Mahadik, Dharamvir Singh, Birendar Lakra Sr. and Danish Mujtaba.
Forwards: Bharat Chikara, Arjun Halappa, Tushar Khandker, Rajpal Singh, Gurvinder Singh Chandi, Prabhjot Singh S V Sunil, Shivendra Singh, Sarwanjit Singh, Roshan Minz, Amir Khan
Standbys : Mandip Antil, Birendra Lakra Jr., Bharat Chetri, V S Vinaya, Ajitesh Roy.
The Match Schedule:
1st Test 9th October Victoria
2nd Test 11th October Victoria
3rd Test14th October Vancouver
4th Test 16th October Vancouver
5th Test 18th October Vancouver
6th Test 22nd October Vancouver
7th Test 24th October Vancouver.
