Top replacements of PR Srejeesh in the Indian men's hockey team

The legendary goalkeeper of the Indian national men's hockey team, PR Sreejesh, has announced his retirement from the national team after his heroic campaign at the Paris Olympics 2024.

The 36-year-old Indian maestro helped the Indian team to clinch the bronze medal at two consecutive Olympic Games. He has played 336 international matches for India in his 18-year-long career.

Now, after his retirement, the question arises as to who will be replacing him in front of the goalpost of the Indian national men's hockey team.

Here, The Bridge is sparkling some limelight on a few of those goalkeepers of India who could be the replacement for Sreejesh:

Krishan B Pathak

Krishan Pathak is the most experienced Indian goalkeeper in the current lot, having played 125 international matches for the Indian national team. He made his international debut in 2018 and has become a crucial part of the team since then.

Having played two Asian Games and winning medals on both occasions, Krishan has proved his pedigree on the international circuit in the last couple of years. He has always been in the scheme of things for the Indian team.

He and Sreejesh have also played together at the FIH Pro League for the last few years as the team was using the strategy of having different goalkeepers in each quarter.

With his experience on the international circuit, Krishan is currently the front-runner for Indian goalkeeping duty.

Suraj Karkera

Another renowned goalkeeper, Suraj Karkera has been the part of national setup for the last seven years. However, he has played only 43 matches for the team so far which included a gold medal-winning performance in the 2017 Asia Cup.

Recently, Suraj was part of the Indian hockey 5s team, which took part in the 5s World Cup in Oman earlier his year. He was also part of the Indian team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where India finished in the fourth position.

Now, he will be trying to get back to the Indian national team and maintain his position for a longer period.

Pawan Malik

Pawan Maik is one of the rising goalkeepers for India, making his debut for the team last year in the FIH Pro League leg in Rourkela. His debut stint with the team impressed all the hockey fans in the stadium.

He represented India at the FIH Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar in 2021 and has steadily climbed through the ranks over the years and is now ready to challenge the top guns for a spot in the national team.