Long on youth, short on experience

CHENNAI, April 30: The selection of the Indian team for the World Cup in Utrecht, next month, went more or less on expected lines, though sy...

CHENNAI, April 30: The selection of the Indian team for the World Cup in Utrecht, next month, went more or less on expected lines, though sympathies would be with goalkeeper AB Subbaiah, who has quit international hockey in disgust at being omitted from a side which is rather short on experience.Subbaiah has had his innings. A 10-year tenure is long by any yardstick, especially considering that artificial surface has drastically cut the longevity of players at the highest level of the sport. No doubt, Subbaiah kept well enough in the recent series to merit a closer look.

Courtesy demanded that he was taken into confidence before announcing his omission. But then, the Indian Hockey Federation IHF and niceties are perfect strangers.

Nevertheless, Subbaiah8217;s contribution cannot be brushed aside. After all, it was his outstanding performance in the 1994 Sydney World Cup that helped India finish fifth overall.

By dropping the experienced Subbaiah, the selectors have taken a huge gamble in opting for tworelatively inexperienced goalkeepers in Jagdish Ponnappa and Jude Menezes, neither of whom has been tested at the highest level.In fact, Ponappa was an understudy to Subbaiah during the recent series against Pakistan. The team8217;s think-tank was hesitant to field Ponappa, who was thought to be too inexperienced and, in fact, an official conceded that Subbaiah was still good enough to be the first choice.

In contrast, there can be little debate over the choice of the three full-backs, Dilip Tirkey, Lazarus Barla and Anil Aldrin, as also the half-line, where Mohd Riaz, reportedly fit after recovering from an injury, is to be welcomed back.

The question mark, however, will be on the fitness of Baljit Singh Saini, who thought his career had ended last year following a persistent heel injury. It is anybody8217;s guess whether he will pass the fitness test prior to the team8217;s departure to Holland after having fractured his cheek bone.

Likewise, skipper Dhanraj Pillay and Rajiv Mishra in the front-line, are still torecover from injuries. And here too, the selectors have risked everything by including them in the 16 with a rider of proving their fitness before leaving for Utrecht.

Story continues below this ad

In the process, the selectors have only served to inject avoidable suspense and uncertainty over the final composition of the squad. It would obviously mean that Baskaran will have so much less time to work out his combination.It is to be hoped that the selectors will not hesitate to drop the trio of Pillay, Mishra and Saini should they fail the fitness test. The team can ill-afford to carry passengers.

Thus, there are only five survivors from the Sydney World Cup team, four years ago 8212; Pillay, Sabu Varkey, Aldrin, Mukesh Kumar and Riaz. The five, along with Saini, Tirkey and Ramandeep Singh, were part of the 1996 Olympic squad also.

Meanwhile, the profusion of players who had won silver at the Junior World Cup in Milton Keynes, England, last year, augurs well, and especially when one considers the point Baskaran has been harping on,which is, to focus on the 2000 Sydney Olympics.