The Indian men's hockey team will take on team Germany in a two-legged tie in the FIH Pro League 2021/22 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar this week.
Hockey India (HI) named the 22-member Indian men's hockey squad ahead of the German challenge, which will be led by skipper Amit Rohidas. Harmanpreet Singh will serve as the vice-captain.
The FIH Pro League matches between the two teams, which were earlier postponed owing to the spike in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in team Germany, will now take place on April 14 and 15, respectively.
The Indian men's team is currently placed first in the FIH Pro points table with 21 points from 10 matches, while the Germans are just behind them with 17 points from eight matches.
Speaking about the team selection, India's chief coach Graham Reid said:
"This year's FIH Pro League has provided us with great opportunities to try different combinations and tactics. We have recognised what works and, more importantly, what areas we need to improve on. This week against Germany is the last leg of our home games for this year and we are looking forward to two more world-class encounters once again. Germany are always an extremely tough opponent and given where we both are on the ladder it will be important for us to finish this week with as many points as possible to remain at the top of the points table."
India squad for the two Germany encounters
The 22-member Indian men's hockey squad:
Goalkeepers: Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Krishan B Pathak
Defenders: Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh
Midfielders: Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Hardik Singh, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh
Forwards: Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Mandeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh
FIH Pro League: India vs Germany match details
India vs Germany FIH Pro League matches will take place on April 14 and 15, 2022 at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
Match 1: India vs Germany
Date: April 14, 2022; Timings: 07:30 pm IST
Match 2: India vs Germany
Date: April 15, 2022; Timings: 05:00 pm IST
Streaming details:
All FIH Pro League 2022 matches are being telecast live on Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD channels. Matches are also available for live streaming on the Hotstar app.