FIH Pro League: "We are still finding our ways to build"- England skipper Tom Sorsby ahead of two-legged tie against India

England captain Tom Sorsby (Getty Images)
England captain Tom Sorsby (Getty Images)

The England men's hockey team will be in action in a two-legged tie against India in the FIH Pro League 2021/22 match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

The England men's hockey team landed in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday (March 30) and will face the hosts on April 2 and 3.

Speaking ahead of the first match against the Amit Rohidas-led Indian side, England skipper Tom Sorsby said:

"It's just important that we sort of keep in mind where we are as a group, we are still coming together and finding our ways to build. We showed what we can do against Spain, and even against Argentina we put together some great parts of that game, which weren't all bad, so just taking the positives that we have from Argentina, with the wins from Spain and will try to put that against India in these two games."

Team England are on a two-game losing streak. After losing both their matches against Argentina, the Sorbsy-led England squad are currently placed seventh in the points table with a total of six points from two wins and two losses each so far.

England head coach Zak Jones said although they had lost both matches against Argentina, the defeats had helped the team prepare better for the Indian challenge.

Coach Jones said:

"I think there are a lot of similarities in the way Argentina and India play, so we feel that the games against Argentina have, hopefully, prepared us relatively well for the sort of (game) India play."

He further added:

"We know India are a really good side and they are playing pretty well at the moment, so I think for us it will be to play our game, which is to look after the ball, try and wear them down, play some positive hockey. We've got quite a lot of inexperienced players as well, so they have learned a lot from Argentina games and hopefully can bring those learnings in these two games against India."

FIH Pro League: Schedule & Match Timings

India will take on England in FIH Pro League matches at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar on April 2 and 3.

Match: India vs England, Match 1

Date: April 2, 2022 Timings: 7:30 PM IST

Match: India vs England, Match 2

Date: April 3, 2022 Timings: 7:30 PM IST

Streaming details:

All FIH Pro League 2022 matches are being telecast live on Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD channels. Matches are also available for live streaming on the Hotstar app.

Also read: FIH Pro League 2021/22: Hockey India names 20-member squad ahead of matches against England

Edited by Steffi