Hockey India today named a 23-member Indian Men Team, including two from Odisha,  for the upcoming Tour of Australia, set to begin from November 26 in Adelaide. The Indian team will play five matches against Australia on November 26, 27, 30, December 3 and 4.

The Australia tour will be a part of preparation for the Indian team ahead of the FIH Odisha Hockey Mens World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, set to begin from 13 January 2023.

The two Odisha players are: defenders Amit Rohidas and Nilam Sanjeep Xess. Rohidas has been named as vice-captain. Experienced dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh will lead the team.

Speaking about the team, Indian Men Team Chief Coach Graham Reid said, "The upcoming tour to Australia is a good opportunity for us to test ourselves against one of the top contenders at the upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Mens World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023. We have picked a solid line of experienced players who we believe can help us in getting the desired results. We have also infused the team with a blend of youngsters to give them exposure of top-level competition and test the depth of our squad."

INDIAN MEN TEAM: Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran. Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Amit Rohidas (VC), Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Varun Kumar. Midfielders: Sumit, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Mohd Raheel Mouseen, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh. Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh.
Coaches & Support Staff: Graham Reid (Chief Coach), Gregg Clark (Analytical Coach), Shivendra Singh (Coach), Mitchell Pemberton (Scientific Advisor), Abhinav Sathe (Physiotherapist), Ashok Chinnasamy (Video Analyst), Arup Naskar (Masseur).
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PHOTO: File photo of Odisha hockey internationals Amit Rohidas (Right) and Nilam Sanjeep Xess.