At 34, PR Sreejesh is at the twilight of his career, having been India’s No.1 goalkeeper for over 16 years. But once Sreejesh calls it a day, India have his replacement ready, feels hockey goalkeeping coach Dennis van de Pol.
It is Krishan Pathak, the 25-year-old who has impressed in his recent outings. Pathak was standby to Sreejesh in the Tokyo Olympics, where India won a historic bronze medal. Post Olympics, they have shared goalkeeping responsibilities.
“I have worked a couple of times in camps with the Indian team. Back in December, in Bangalore, I worked with nine goalies, out of which three are from the first team — Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak and Suraj Karkera,” Van de Pol said.
“The goalies from the 2019 batch of India juniors are now in the senior group. So there is definitely good plans for the future. The other good part is that both the two goalies of the senior team — Krishan andSreejesh play in (different) quarters.
“Krishan is much junior to Sree, so he is exposed quite a lot in big matches. He is the guy for the future. By the timeSreejesh stops, Krishan will still be a young guy with a lot of experience,” he added.
Van de Pol also feels India have a good chance to make it to the podium in the ongoing World Cup. “We have a good, strong team. We have a strong defence.”