Rohidas was the vice-captain of the Indian team at the Mens World Cup 2022 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. He also led the Indian team in the FIH Hockey Pro League double-header against England at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar in April 2022  with Harmanpreet as his deputy.

Rohidas is now regarded as the most fearless first-rusher of the world when it comes to saving penalty corners. His exclusion from Team India for Pro League has eyebrows in the hockey circle of the country.

In another surprising move, Hockey India has named David John and BJ Kariappa as the interim coaches along with Shivendra Singh of the Indian team for the Pro League matches. "At the FIH Hockey Pro League in Rourkela, the team will play under interim coaches until Hockey India announces the new chief coach," stated Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey.

It may be mentioned here that after the stepping down of chief coach Graham Reid following the dismal performance of the Indian team at the FIH World Cup, Hockey India is yet to appoint a new chief coach. Instead, it has named David John and BJ Kariappa as the interim coaches.

Both John and Kariappa are now working as the coaches of the Odisha State teams. John, an Australian, first came to India as an exercise physiologist in 2011 and left in 2012. He returned in 2016 as Hockey India High Performance Director, but left in August 2020, citing health and personal reasons.

In May last year he was roped in as Director of Hockey by Odisha Government. Despite having less experience as coach, John has been chosen as the coach of the Indian team. On the other hand, Kariappa, who had a long association with the Junior National team, was also roped in by Odisha Government last year and is now working as a senior coach at the Panposh Sports Hostel in Rourkela.

On March 10, India will take on Germany in the first match, followed by Germany playing against Australia on March 11. On March 12, India and Australia will go head-to-head, while on March 13, India will play against Germany for the second time.

On March 14, the spotlight will be on Germany and Australia, and the final match in Rourkela will take place on March 15, with India playing against Australia for the second time. All matches will be held at 1900 hours IST.

INDIAN MEN TEAM FOR FIH HOCKEY PRO LEAGUE 2022-2023: Goalkeepers: Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran Pawan. Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh (Captain), Jugraj Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Manjeet, Manpreet Singh. Mid-fielders: Hardik Singh (Vice-Captain), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Raj Kumar Pal. Forwards: S Karthi, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Gurjant Singh.
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TOP: File photo of Odisha hockey internationals Nilam Sanjeep Xess (Left) and Amit Rohidas.
RIGHT: File picture of interim coach of the Indian men hockey team, David John.