Captain Harmanpreet Singh has been given a much-needed break and several youngsters included as Hockey India (HI) and coach Craig Fulton on Monday named 36 probables for a 10-day camp in Bengaluru with focus on fitness and conditioning, starting Tuesday.
Continuing the process of trying out every possible combination and giving a chance to youngsters to increase the available pool of players, the likes of Aditya Lalage and Sudeep Chirmako have been rewarded for their impressive performances in the HIL while Selvam Karthi comes back for another chance to impress. However Amandeep Lakra, a possible back-up to Harmanpreet in drag-flicking, has been left out.
The Indian team has had a busy year so far with the Hockey India League and the FIH Pro League giving little time to recover. Harmanpreet, who has played non-stop for a long time and continued in the Pro League with a nagging wrist injury, has been rested while experienced Mandeep Singh has been exempted because of his impending marriage.
“It has been a busy season for the players with back-to-back events and high-quality matches. Our focus in this camp will be more on fitness and conditioning apart from looking at the recent performances and where we stand in terms of key areas. Our efforts will be towards building up for the next phase of Pro League and seeing how some of the fresh talents perform,” Fulton said.
The core probable group: Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Pawan, Suraj Karkera, H.S. Mohith; Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Sumit, Sanjay, Jugraj Singh, Amandeep Lakra, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Varun Kumar, Yashdeep Siwach.
Midfielders: Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Mohd. Raheel Mouseen, Vishnukant Singh, Rajinder Singh, C.B. Poovanna; Forwards: Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh, Angad Bir Singh, Aditya Arjun Lalage, Boby Singh Dhami, Sudeep Chirmako, Selvam Karthi, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh, Uttam Singh.
Published – March 17, 2025 06:57 pm IST
Content Source: www.thehindu.com