Star striker Rani Rampal named skipper of Indian women's hockey team for New Zealand tour

New Delhi: Star striker Rani Rampal will lead a 20-member Indian women’s hockey team for the tour of New Zealand, beginning on 25 January in Auckland. [caption id=“attachment_7334531” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Rani Rampal. Twitter @imranirampal[/caption] According to the squad named by Hockey India, goalkeeper Savita will be Rani’s deputy during the tour. India’s first match of the tour is against the New Zealand Development squad on 25 January, followed by games against the New Zealand women’s team on 27 and 29 January. The Indians will also play Great Britain on 4 February and then conclude the tour with another match against the New Zealand women’s team on 5 February. Speaking about the tour, India’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said, “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 only 16 players because we play with 16 players at the Olympics and in some matches, we will play 18 members.” “The players have to show their best and I want to see how they perform under pressure and stay in the right rhythm,” Marijne added. He added that the matches against World No 5 Great Britain and World No 6 New Zealand will provide a great opportunity for the Indian team to showcase their fearless attitude. 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.