Chasing off-shore dreams

The age difference of just a year—Raghav is younger — perhaps allows that. For once,though,the Bhasin brothers are on the same wavelength as they prepare for their first foreign tour as part of the Simla Youngs under-18 squad for the Welsh International Super Cup on Friday.

“Being a striker and a mid-fielder,we create a lot of chances between us but we always have differences and fights on the field. I am a mid-fielder and he always complains that I don’t pass him the ball,which often becomes an issue. But I don’t pass it to him because he’s too possessive,” says Raghav.

His elder brother intervenes to explain his point of view. “Being a striker I have a better idea and chance of scoring. My scoring ability is way better than his and even he appreciates that,” 17-year-old Shivraj says.

Talking about the Welsh Cup,though,the late starters in the game feel they can afford to overlook the situation of the game in the country by grabbing this opportunity to impress European clubs.

“Honestly,we are not aware of what’s happening in Indian football but we hear it’s not that good. A good performance during this tour can land us a contract with some European club through their scouts. We are really looking forward to that,” Shivraj says.

Father Sanjiv Bhasin is keeping his fingers crossed. “I’m happy that they have taken up the sport and done so well. Both have represented Haryana,but the real picture is not that good in India. My only concern is their studies,there’s no alternative here,” he says.

Squads:

Under-10: Daksh Gupta,Kabir Dev,Karanveer Nath,Vinayak Khushalani,Nakul Tuli,Sarthak Jain,Alexander Ray,Ananmay Jain,Harbir Singh,Karan Kaul,Kush Sarna,Param Hooda.

Under-13: Ananda Gupta,Soham Luthra,Jack Lyndon Shaw,Kosuke Sakaki,Karan Khazanchi,Soichiro Okada,Sarthak Hooda,Mukesh Kumar,Charlie Ray,Viren Aggarwal,Sushant Negi,Punit Paul,Arun Sharma,Kanta Nakahara,Ananmay Khemka,Anuj Kumar

Under-15: Haruto Nakai,Hemant Choudhary,Gopal Pathak,Gaurav Rawat,Ekant Chopra,Karan Khanna,Kumar Sargam,Aishwarya Sharma,Ishat Arora,Rohan Kunwar,Samarth Luthra,Sachin Kumar Kohli,Rishabh Gopal,Shashvat Chandra,Pratik Kashyap,Rahul Gautam,Rishabh Verma.

Under-18: Prithvi Raj Dev,Nitish Chhikara,Gibram Rahman,Suraj Prakash Saxena,Keshav Singh,Jonathan Stephan,Nitin Khandelwal,Saurabh Singh,Rockhadson,Munmun Th. Lugun,Nikhil Mahajan,Rakshit,Hiyansh Bodh,Srikant Singh,Abhishek Rawat,Raghav Bhasin,Shivraj Bhasin