In their previous outing in the prestigious home league fixtures, India went unbeaten against reigning world champions Germany and Australia which helped them top the points table.
In Europe, they hope to build on their winning streak by taking on the formidable Belgium and Great Britain in London, followed by matches against the Netherlands and Argentina in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
The 24-member squad, announced on Monday, includes goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak. He returns to the team after missing home games due to his marriage.
He will be joined by PR Sreejesh under the bar while the defending list includes five penalty corner specialists in Harmanpreet, Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay and Mandeep Mor.
Manpreet Singh, who was the highlight of India’s midfield, will be seen in a new role, playing in India’s backline with Sumit and Gurinder Singh also named in the backline.
The midfield will be led by vice-captain Hardik Singh along with Dilpreet Singh, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad.
India’s forward line sees the return of Simranjeet Singh who last played for India at the Asian Cup in Jakarta but had to return home halfway through due to injury concerns .
He will be joined by a good mix of experienced and young strikers like Abhishek, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, S Karthi, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Raj Kumar Pal and Mandeep Singh.
“This tournament will be a great opportunity for us to compete against the top ranked teams and further improve our overall game. We look forward to the challenge and hope to finish the professional league tournament strong,” said Fulton.
Crew:
Guardians: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh (c), Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay, Mandeep Mor, Gurinder Singh
Midfielders: Hardik Singh (vc), Dilpreet Singh, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad
Forwards: Abhishek, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, S Karthi, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Mandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh
