Odisha defenders Amit Rohidas and Nilam Sanjeep Xess have been selected to represent India in the first four matches of the FIH Hockey Pro League (Men) for the season 2022-23, which is scheduled to be held at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar from October 28.

Harmanpreet Singh has been appointed captain of a 22-member Indian team with Manpreet Singh as his deputy. India are scheduled to open their campaign against New Zealand on October 28 and will take on Spain on October 30. The hosts will play their second tie against New Zealand on November 4 and face Spain on November 6.

“We are continuing to expand the leadership skills of the group with Harmanpreet Singh being selected as captain for these first four games,” chief coach Graham Reid said in a release today.

The team will also see some fresh faces in Mohd Raheel Mouseen, who was part of victorious Indian team in the FIH Hockey 5s Tournament earlier this year and S Karthi, who played his maiden tournament for India at the Asia Cup Jakarta.

“We have chosen an experienced squad to play the first two rounds of Pro League starting this weekend in Bhubaneswar. Given that, we also have two new players playing in the Pro League.”

“Mohammed Raheel will make his debut in the 11-a-side format after strong performances including Leading Goal Scorer and Player of the Tournament at the FIH 5s Tournament in Lausanne in June and at the recent National Games in Rajkot.”

TEAM INDIA: Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh. Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor, Nilam Sanjeep Xess. Midfielders: Sumit, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Rajkumar Pal and Mohd Raheel Mouseen. Forwards: S Karthi, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh.