Hockey World Cup 2023: PR Sreejesh hails Graham Reid’s decision to rotate between him and Krishan Pathak

India’s veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has lauded Graham Reid’s decision to rotate between him and Krishan Pathak. Both of the Indian goalkeepers have played alternate quarters in the ongoing FIH Hockey World Cup.

India had won their opening match of the event against Spain by 2-0 and then shared the spoils against England as the two teams played a goalless draw. Thus, both the goalkeepers have kept a clean sheet, which Reid feels is a positive for the team. The Australian also said that the defense has done a good job for the team against England.

India conceded eight penalty corners against England in their second game but they were able to defend them all.

Sreejesh told PTI, “We wanted to prepare together for the next stages of the World Cup. If anytime, anything happens to one of the two goalkeepers, the other will have to be on his toes. So, that is a good strategy.”

“We are exchanging in quarters. He is getting exposure while I have got enough experience. It is a good thing for the future,” said Sreejesh.

The veteran goalkeeper added the team must learn from the England match and try to give their best against Wales, who had given good competition to Spain.

​​”Somewhere, we need to look into that, where we can, what changes we can make in penalty corners or other goal-scoring opportunities. We must learn from the England match and prepare for the next game.”

“Wales are a very good side, they gave a good fight against Spain. We will analyze their game and plan accordingly.”

Sreejesh admitted they made a slow start against England, which the opposition capitalized on.

“We had a very slow start that is why England capitalized on that in the first quarter.

“From the second quarter onwards we put pressure on them, we bounced back and created opportunities. In our pool, every match is crucial.”

India will play their final group match against Wales on Thursday in Bhubaneshwar.