Rani Rampal named skipper of Indian Hockey squad for New Zealand tour

India will take on New Zealand on January 27 and 29 followed by a match against Great Britain on February 4.

New Delhi:Ace Indian hockey striker Rani Rampal has been named as the skipper of the women's hockey team for the upcoming New Zealand tour, Hockey India announced on Tuesday.

Hockey India also said that Savita will be the vice-captain of the team for the forthcoming tournament, which will begin from 25 January 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand.

India women's hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne said that this tour will be help players to compete among themselves.

Indian Hockey squad for New Zealand tour announced

"I want to use this tour to create more competition within this group. Although we are taking a 20-member team, in some matches we will use 16 players because we play with 16 players at the Olympics and in some matches, we will play 18 members," Marijne said in a statement.

He said that he is looking forward to seeing how the team will perform in tough situations.

"The players have to show their best and I want to see how they perform under pressure and stay in the right rhythm for matches," added the coach.

India squad:Rani Rampal (captain), Savita (vice-captain), Rajini Etimarpu , Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Reena Khokhar, Salima Tete, Sushila Chanu, Nisha, Namita Toppo, Udita, Monika, Lilima Minz, Neha, Sonika, Sharmila Devi, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Navjot Kaur.

India will take on New Zealand on January 27 and 29 followed by a match against Great Britain on February 4.