Ace full-back Dilip Tirkey will lead India in the Olympic hockey qualifying tournament in Madrid, from March 2 to 13.

But for the omission of ace forward Dhanraj Pillay, the team, announced by Indian Hockey Federation president K P S Gill on Monday, has no surprises. All the players who played in the recent Test series against The Netherlands have been retained.

Gill said former captain Pillay was not considered for selection as he is still nursing the knee injury he suffered during the Azlan Shah tournament in Kuala Lumpur in January.

Pillay also missed the Test series against the Dutch.

India are grouped with Pakistan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Belgium and Canada in Pool B.

Defending Olympic champions The Netherlands, Great Britain, Spain, Japan, South Africa and Poland are placed in Pool A.

The team leaves for Madrid on Tuesday night.

The team:

Dilip Tirkey (captain), Devesh Chauhan, Bharat Chetri, Kanwalpreet Singh, William Xalco, Ignace Tirkey, Vikram Pillay, Len Aiyappa, Viren Rasquinha, Bimal Lakra, Gagan Ajit Singh, Sandeep Michael, Prabhjot Singh, Arjun Halappa, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Baljit Singh Sani, Tejbir Singh, Deepak Thakur.