W2W4: India look to defend Asian Champions Trophy crown

Defending champions India will have a few boxes to tick in the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT), which begins with India facing hosts Oman in one of the opening day's matches in Muscat on Thursday.

The six-nation event is the last significant tournament for India ahead of the home World Cup in Bhubaneswar next month -- and while India start favourites as the only team ranked inside the top 10, at fifth -- the Asian Games bronze will be a reminder of how they are on a hiding to nothing unless they win their knockout games.

Life after Sardar

It has long been coming, but the ACT should be an accurate reflection of how the Indian midfield can cope with life without the experience of Sardar Singh, who announced his retirement soon after the Asian Games disappointment.

Manpreet Singh, restored to captaincy for this tournament, has long been the bulwark of the Indian midfield, but with Sardar gone and the versatile SV Sunil missing through injury, he will have to lead by example and add consistency to his usual ability to work hard at both ends of the pitch. If youngsters like Sumit and Nilakanta Sharma can chip in with holding the midfield together, it could give Manpreet the freedom to play in advanced positions, where his vision and passing can unlock the best defences.

A young defence that will be tested

The absence of Rupinderpal Singh means Harmanpreet Singh and Varun Kumar will have to shoulder the burden of penalty corners for India, which could be a good thing with the World Cup in mind. Surender Kumar and Kothajit Singh are the only experienced players in a defence that will also see a debut for teenager Hardik Singh.

India's defence will be stretched by quality opposition attackers -- and Malaysia's pace and individual skills should provide them the sternest test. Pakistan's experienced forward line could also be a handful, though with Roelant Oltmans now with Malaysia, it would be interesting to see how that affects the tactical nous of Pakistan, who have been competitive against India this year.

Will India give more game time to their second goalkeeper?

As India scored 76 goals and conceded just three through the five pool matches at the Asian Games, PR Sreejesh and his deputy Krishan Pathak were relegated to mere spectators for the most part. When India played their first meaningful match, against Malaysia, a late PC conversion by Razie Rahim saw India throw away a 2-1 lead and eventually get knocked out on the shootout in the semifinals.

Coach Harendra Singh would want Pathak to get some more game-time to assess his backup keeper for the World Cup. Perhaps starting with the younger goalkeeper in the pressure game against Pakistan wouldn't be a bad idea either, considering he would always have the option of inserting Sreejesh as substitute if things don't go to plan.

Suss out potential opponents at the World Cup

The field itself is a tricky one, apart from the lowly-ranked Oman team, 33rd in the world. Asian Games gold medallists Japan and South Korea aren't even part of the World Cup, where Pakistan and Malaysia are pooled together with Netherlands and Germany. The team that finishes third in that pool will face the runners-up of Pool C, which has both India and Belgium.

There's a likely India-Malaysia or India-Pakistan clash in the crossover to decide which one of the teams makes the quarterfinals. Any psychological points scored in Muscat could come in handy in Bhubaneswar in December.