Are the quot;super sixquot; in or out?

Hyderabad, March 23: Were they actually rested8217;? Were they dropped for antagonising the administration? Will they make a comeback? These are the questions being asked in the hockey circles as they ponder about the fate of the Super Six8217; of Indian hockey who were dropped8217; immediately after the gold medal triumph at Bangkok Asian Games in December.

Of the six, only three 8212; Ashish Ballal, Mukesh Kumar, Sandeep Somesh 8212; have made an appearance in the ongoing Nationals. the others 8212; AB Subbiah 8212; opted for a break, while Dhanraj Pillay and his Mumbai teammate Sabu Varkey are playing in Bangladesh.

With the IHF making it clear that participation in the Nationals would be the criteria for selection to the National team, the question is whether those who skipped the event would be among the 60-plus probables to be picked. Selector Joaquim Carvalho said: 8220;We are working to a clear brief. We don8217;t even have the six in our minds as special players. We are here to select 60-66 players on the basis of theperformance in this championship.8221;