Bengaluru, Sep 16 (IANS): The core probables of the Indian mens hockey team will return to the national camp starting from September 18 at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus here.

The four-week camp will set momentum for the fourth Men's Asian Champions Trophy slated to begin in Malaysia next month where India go in as favourites, according to a Hockey India (HI) release.

The camp will have 26 core probables -- skipper and custodian P.R. Sreejesh, Sardar Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Surender Kumar, Abhinav Kumar Pandey, Akash Chikte, Rupinder Pal Singh, Pardeep Mor, Jasjit Singh Kular, Birendra Lakra, Satbir Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Talwinder Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mohd. Amir Khan, Affan Yousuf, Manpreet Singh, V.R. Raghunath, S.V. Sunil, Devindar Walmiki, Nikkin Thimmaiah, S.K. Uthappa, Kothajit Singh and Ramandeep Singh 

Speaking about the camp, National team's head Coach Roelant Oltmans said: "This camp is crucial as we prepare for some major tournaments starting with the Asian Champions Trophy in Kuantan, Malaysia, where we will meet arch rivals Pakistan among other top teams."

"There are some areas we would specifically like to focus on and experiment with different tactics in terms of creating field goals and also earning PCs. We will be touring Australia in November and hope to carry the good form Down Under. 

"The next two years for Indian hockey are crucial with the upcoming Hockey World Cup in India in 2018. All the tournaments we would play in the lead up will only help prepare us for the big event," he said.