Recall his triumphs, not his tantrums

Former India captain Zafar Iqbal, general manager at IA, says, ‘‘Inamur bhai was accepted because he was such a great player. We wanted the team to win.’’ Ditto is the case with Dhanraj, who Zafar hints should be persisted with despite his attitude. ‘‘Dhanraj’s fitness may not be the same but he is so creative on the field. The team may be selected by the IHF but it represents the country and the best players need to be selected,’’ Zafar told The Indian Express today.

Zafar adds that the IHF needs management skills to dilute the differences between players and officials instead of just dropping players. ‘‘It’s difficult to make a player but you can destroy him in one moment of frustration.’’

Today it is Dhanraj, but tomorrow it could be anyone. Certainly factionalism is not new to hockey but that is not how other teams handle such problems. During the 1986 World Cup for example, Australia were desperate to take along the legendary Ric Charlesowrth even though he was 34 at that time. Zafar, who played in that tournament recounts, ‘‘The Aussies were so desperate to utilise his vast experience that they even created a new position for him in the team. Ric used to play as right-in but he played that tournament as a centre-half and they won the World Cup for the first time.’’

The friction between Dhanraj and the IHF is not new. The mercurial striker was sacked after leading India to the Asian Games gold in 1998. Present coach Rajinder Singh is the fifth coach under whom Dhanraj has played since then but he had problems to varying degrees with practically all the coaches he has played under. But in the same breath one has to mention about Dhanraj’s contribution to the revival of hockey in the country. But sadly the IHF just seems to remember the star’s tantrums and not his triumphs on field.

A former international who is also Dhanraj’s one-time coach says that every coach in India shudders when he has to deal with the star player but finally it’s the IHF’s job to ensure that everything is smooth. ‘‘Having gone through it, I know what it must be for Rajinder too. There is already enough on his head, but Dhanraj is an additional responsibility. For Dhanraj, it has to be ‘Handle with Care’.’’

In the last few days, a series of former players have met Rajinder separately to convince him that Dhanraj, and handling him properly, is of paramount importance to the success of the team. Apparently Joaquim Carvalho, Dhanraj’s mentor in his early days had a few days ago contacted Rajinder, who is a former teammate, to discuss the issue of bringing Dhanraj back. The message seems simple: Bring the star back, and learn to handle him.