Mumbai have formidable squad in HIL: coach Stacy

Hockey India League (HIL) franchise Dabang Mumbai Hockey Club's newly-appointed head coach Jay Stacy said the side is keen to start their campaign with a win over Kalinga Lancers in Bhubaneswar later this week.

The team would hope to revive their fortunes to make up for the disappointments of 2015 in the upcoming fourth edition of the six-team franchise-based tournament.

"We are all geared up and ready to play an exciting round of hockey. With a perfect blend of national and international players, the team is very balanced, mentally stronger and shaping up to be a formidable force that will look at making it to the top of the table," said Stacy.

A perfect mix of talented national and international players from across Australia, Sweden, Ireland, Spain and Germany, the Mumbai squad will see David Harte, Krishan Pathak, Xavi Trenchs guard the goal posts with Harmanpreet Singh, Jeremy Hayward, Gurmail Singh and Andrew Philpott forming a solid defensive wall.

Matthew Swann, Danish Mujtaba, Dylan Wotherspoon, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Vikas Sharma, Tyron Pereira will be the driving engine in the midfield setting up play for possibly the most lethal offensive combination in the HIL comprising of Florian Fuchs, Affan Yousuf, Nikkin Thimmaiah, John Bjorkman, Gurjant Singh and Roshan Minz.

South African legend Greg Nicol has joined the squad as assistant coach with the French team video analyst, Axel Guignard.

Former India skipper and Arjuna Awardee Viren Rasquinha was included as chief mentor and Edgar Mascarenhas as the goal-keeping coach.