Hockey India announces 26-member men's team for South Africa Tour

New Delhi, Jan 10: Hockey India on Wednesday announced the 26-man squad for a Four Nation Tour in Cape Town, South Africa, starting January 22.

The tournament will feature France, Netherlands, India and hosts South Africa. The Indian team will be led by Harmanpreet Singh and FIH Player of the Year winner Hardik Singh will shoulder the responsibilities of vice captain. Youngsters Araijeet Singh Hundal and Boby Singh Dhami have been included in the squad following an impressive outing with the junior side.

Goalkeepers PR Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak and Pawan have been included in the squad along with defenders Jarmanpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Sumit, Sanjay and Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem.

Midfielders selected in the team are Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Hardik Singh and Manpreet Singh. The forward line features Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Boby Singh Dhami.

Speaking about the South Africa Tour, Chief Coach Craig Fulton said: "We are quite excited to get on with the season in the Olympic year with the South Africa Tour where we will play quality teams. We have chosen a big squad in order to give players exposure and it will also give me an opportunity to see some of the players in competition mode ahead of the FIH Hockey Pro League. We have a short camp in SAI, Bengaluru before we leave for the Tour. We have also included two young players in the Senior side, and it will be interesting to watch them adapt to the level we play."