Hockey World Cup 2018: 5 standout players for India in the pool stages

#4 Simranjeet Singh

Simranjeet has impressed with his scoring prowess

Just before the Indians headed to Breda to take part in the prestigious Champions Trophy, Simranjeet was called in as a last-minute replacement for Akashdeep who was ruled out with an injury.

The 21-year-old striker from Punjab who had made his senior debut in the Four-Nations in New Zealand along with Dilpreet, performed admirably at Breda, combining well with Sunil, Lalit, and Mandeep.

Simranjeet has been in prime form at Bhubaneswar scoring twice in India's opener against South Africa.

Simranjeet's goals against Mark Hopkins' side helped the Indians take command of the proceedings in the final quarter which effectively shunted South Africa out of the match.

Yet again, against Belgium, Simranjeet found the back of the net early in the fourth quarter to give India the lead which put the Red Lions on the back foot before they finally managed a late equalizer.

The youngster from Punjab was not as effective in India's last pool match against the Canadians but Simranjeet will need to continue beating the best goalkeepers in the world if the Indians are to advance to the final stages of the competition.