The Indian team will take on Olympic gold-medalists Germany in their opening match of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament in London today.
PR Sreejesh will captain the squad in the competition as Sardar Singh has been rested.
The other four participating teams in the tournament are: Great Britain, Australia, Belgium and South Korea.
Launching their campaign at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre, India are seeking to add to their only Champions Trophy medal -- a bronze -- they won at Amsterdam in 1982.
Indian coach Roelant Oltmans said a medal in the event, will be a big confidence-booster for the team ahead of the Rio Olympic Games.
The current edition of the Champions Trophy returns to the old format of six teams competing in round-robins, with the top two teams advancing to the final.
The third and fourth placed teams in the round-robin league will play-off for the bronze medal.