Bengaluru: The Asian Champions India will be led by Raghunath VR at the Four-Nation Tournament starting November 23 followed by a Test series against hosts Australia.
The tournament is a next after their successful Asian Champions Trophy 2016, where they could showcase inspiring outing after a debacle at the Rio 2016 Summer Games. the team will miss the services of its star goal keeper and Captain Sreejesh PR who is still to recover from the knee injury he sustained during the Asian Champions Trophy. Experienced defender Rupinder Pal Singh will take care of the responsibilities as the Deputy of the team.
Other members of the team are Abhinav Kumar Pandey, Akash Chikte (Goal Keepers); Pardeep Mor, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar (Defenders); Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Manpreet Singh, Sardar Singh, S.K. Uthappa (Mid-fielders) and Talwinder Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Affan Yousuf, Mohammad Amir Khan, Satbir Singh, Akashdeep Singh.
The tournament will be a place to show that the talent pool has youngsters who can replace experienced players, if need be.
Sreejesh PR will be replaced by Akash Chikte who showcased his skills in the final of Asian Champions Trophy and Abhinav Kumar Pandey is in the team as reserve keeper.
Speaking about Abhinav, Cheif Coach Oltmans said, “Abhinav has been in and out of the camps. He has had a knee injury for a while but has made a strong comeback and we are pleased with his performance in this camp.”
Apart from Sreejesh, SV Sunil and Ramandeep Singh will also miss out due to injuries, Sunil didn’t participate even in the Asian Champions Trophy while Ramandeep Singh sustained injury during the tournament. The injured duo will be replaced by Nikkin Thimmaiah and Satbir Singh.
Oltmans, while speaking about the injuries and rehabilitation, said, “Both Sreejesh and Sunil will remain in SAI for rehabilitation. Also Sreejesh has willingly stepped up to spend some time with the junior team goalkeepers. He has already starting working with them and will assist Dave Staniforth who is joining us next week. This is great for the young boys and sharing his experience with them will be valuable ahead of the Junior World Cup.” stated Oltmans.
Oltmans will be working with the Junior team ahead of the Junior World Cup and strategic coach Roger Van Gent will accompany the senior team to Australia.
Speaking about the team and challenges, Skipper Raghunath said, “The Asian Champions Trophy win has boosted the morale of the players and the team’s spirit is high. However, playing in Australia is a different challenge and we are up for it. We have beaten Australia in their home earlier in 2014 Test series and look to repeat similar performance this time too.”