The five-match ‘Test series’ will be crucial for both teams as they prepare for the 2023 Men’s World Cup, which will be held in Odisha in January next year. The Indian women’s team will also face the Australian women in a series of matches in May of next year, the dates of which have yet to be confirmed.
A senior Indian hockey team has not played in Australia since the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.The South Australian Government has shown enormous enthusiasm and eagerness to host these matches from the moment we raised the prospect of hosting them in Adelaide, said Hockey Australia CEO David Pryles in a statement.
Playing against a world-class team such as Australia will benefit both our Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams. I wish them the best of luck and thank Hockey Australia for organizing these Test matches, Tirkey said in a statement issued by Hockey Australia.
In recent years, Australia and India have developed a fierce rivalry on the hockey field. With a large and passionate Indian population in Adelaide, there is no doubt that this series will be a hot ticket to get and attract fantastic crowds, he added. Eddie Ockenden, the Kookaburras’ co-captain, will make his 400th international appearance in the series. The 35-year-old has played 398 games so far.
Graham Reid, an Australian and former Kookaburra, currently coaches the Indian men’s team. They will arrive in Australia after playing back-to-back double-headers against Spain and New Zealand in Bhubaneswar during the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-2023 season.
