New Delhi, 30 March 2021: Manpreet Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh, who were among the many who did not make it to the recent Europe tour, are back in the reckoning. The duo will be among the 22-member team that will take up the Pro-League matches in Buenos Aires  Manpreet Singh will lead India for a fortnightly visit of distant Argentina with Harmanpreet Singh as his deputy.

Indian men’s team broke the COVID-19 inflicted hiatus last month with a Europe tour in which the PR Sreejesh led India took on Germany and England with admirable results.

Hockey India on Tuesday announced the 22-member Indian Men’s Hockey Team for the tour. India will take on the reigning Olympic Champions Argentina in the FIH Hockey Pro League matches on 11th and 12 April 2021 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Indian Team will also play two practice matches against the home team on 6th and 7th April 2021 ahead of their FIH Hockey Pro League clash followed by two more practice matches on 13th and 14 April 2021 as part of their preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games this July.

The  tour of Argentina will see the return of experienced midfielder and Skipper Manpreet Singh who had opted out of the recent Europe tour due to personal reasons while his compatriot and experienced dragflick specialist Rupinder Pal Singh as well as Varun Kumar who had missed out the previous tour owing to rehab will also be back in the mix for India.

The 22-member squad led by Manpreet Singh and Vice-Captain Harmanpreet Singh includes goalkeepers PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak. Amit Rohidas, Gurinder Singh, Surender Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Raj Kumar Pal, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Gurjant Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay remain unchanged from the previous tour. The team also includes Jaskaran Singh, Sumit and Shilanand Lakra who will be playing their first international match in over a year.

Meanwhile experienced players Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Simranjeet Singh who were part of the Europe Tour have been rested.

“Once again, we are excited about being able to travel overseas for international competition. We are taking a 22-man squad attempting to provide a good balance between giving experience to those players who need it and opportunities for players to perform on the international stage in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics,” stated Chief Coach Graham Reid about the team selection.

“We will be playing four practice games against Argentina and two all-important FIH Hockey Pro League matches. To play the Olympic Champions is always an honour and a privilege in our sport and especially challenging to play them in their own country. Argentina play a different style of game to the teams we played in Europe, and we will be using this tour as a great opportunity to continue our growth and development before Tokyo. These games will provide opportunities to hone our skills and tactics in a period where all teams have been starved of international competition. Given how challenging it is to move around the world like we once did, we appreciate the efforts of SAI, Hockey India, Argentine Hockey Confederation (CAH) and FIH for making these matches possible.”

The Indian Team will leave for Buenos Aires on 31 March for the 16-day tour from Bengaluru following the mandatory RTPCR tests within 72 hours prior to their departure.

Indian Team 
1. P R Sreejesh
2. Krishan Bahadur Pathak
3. Amit Rohidas
4. Gurinder Singh
5. Harmanpreet Singh (Vice Captain)
6. Surender Kumar
7. Rupinderpal Singh
8. Varun Kumar
9. Birendra Lakra
10. Jaskaran Singh
11. Hardik Singh
12. Manpreet Singh (Captain)
13. Vivek Sagar Prasad
14. Raj Kumar Pal
15. Sumit
16. Nilakanta Sharma
17. Shamsher Singh
18. Gurjant Singh
19. Dilpreet Singh
20. Mandeep Singh
21. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay
22. Shilanand Lakra