26-member Indian men's hockey team announced for four nations tournament

India has picked a big squad for the men's Four-Nation hockey tour of South Africa this month to check out as many players as possible in the crucial Olympic year.

The tournament will be played in Cape Town, South Africa starting 22nd January 2024 and it 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 Indian side.

It will also mark the return of the former captain Manpreet Singh after a break.

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 to give players exposure and it will also allow me 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."

Indian Team for South Africa tour:

Goalkeepers: Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Pawan

Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Varun Kumar, Sumit, Sanjay, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem

Midfielders: Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Hardik Singh (VC), Manpreet Singh

Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Boby Singh Dhami