Mumbai Mumbai. Indian men's hockey team coach Craig Fulton on Tuesday said he has started the work of building a new core group of players keeping in mind the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The two-Test series against Olympic silver medalist Germany is a step in this direction.
Fulton has chosen a mix of youth and experience against Germany, with young midfielder Rajinder Singh and striker Aditya Arjun Lagle given debuts, as well as players like Mandeep Singh and Dilpreet Singh recalled. “If you look at it from now to the World Cup and now to LA (Los Angeles), we're just trying to open up the selection to pick a new core group that will take us from now to the World Cup and from the World Cup to LA ,” Fulton said in his pregame press conference.
“So you're never out of the system in that sense. Now it's opened up again and we're now giving players opportunities.” The matches against Germany will be played at Major Dhyanchand National Stadium. Fulton rejected suggestions that hockey Test series have become irrelevant, saying the opportunity to play any of the best teams is always rewarding. “Playing Test matches is always important; This is a test of where you are. It will be good for us, we have Rajinder and Aditya – two debutants – and we also want to see some other players who have come back.
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