We will miss Dhanraj, Varkey’

In the absence of the two stalwarts (see box), the mantle of captaincy fell on India half Sandeep Somesh. This will be the first National as captain for the 27-year-old, and the importance of the occasion was not lost on him. He echoed the coach’s sentiments on Pillay and Varkey, and said, “At the bottom of my heart, I knew I would be named captain in their absence. I have a young team, but a winning team.”

As centre-half, Somesh will be the crucial cog in Bombay’s gameplan. More importantantly, Somesh admittedly has a point to prove to theIndian Hockey Federation (IHF) bigwigs, after they unceremoniously rested’ him and five others following the Asian Games triumph.

Iqbaljit admitted that the absence of players from Tata Sports Club, fielding an independent team for the Nationals, cut into Bombay’s reserves.The strength of the team is obviously its half-line, with internationals SS Gill and MK Prakash flanking the skipper on the right and left respectively, and the experienced Shayne D’Costa and IS Negi in tow. So much so, young Sunil Pereira, who gave an excellent outing for himself in the recent National Games, was consigned to the reserves bench. “I feel sorry for him,” Iqbaljit said. With World Cupper Jude Menezes under the bars, and junior international Saurab Bishnoi in defence, the defence looks solid enough. But the offence, barring Ravi Nayakar, looks a bit worse for experience. Vijay Alphonso, left-out, is the only debutant in the team.

Iqbaljit used the 10-day preparatory camp for counterattack and ball possession workouts,but penalty corners remain the achilles heel. Thanks to the uneven turf near the shooting circle, the coach had to shift the goalpost to another spot in the field to perform the dead ball drill.

Team:
Goalkeepers: Jude Menezes (BPCL), Sudhir Singh (Rizvi); Backs: Saurab Bishnoi, Ajay Kumar (both BPCL); Half: SS Gill, Sandeep Somesh (capt), MK Prakash (all BPCL), Shayne D’Costa, IS Negi (Rizvi); Forwards: BN Madan (Rizvi), Deepak Sharma, Ravi Nayakar, Amar Ayyamma (all BPCL), Rajan Lakra (Navy), Edwin Moti (CRMD), Vijay Alphonso (Bom Rep). Coach: Iqbaljit Singh Grewal (Customs), Manager: Mukul Pandey (Customs); Liaison officer: Kuldip Singh Sandhu (Customs); Chef De Mission: PS Sujlana.

Standbyes:
Jahangir Shaikh, Salauddin Siddique (both MPT), Carlyle D’Mello, Conroy Remedios (both RCF), Sunil Pereira (Bom Rep), Gurmeet Singh (SAI).

They kept us in the dark: Bha

"I’m worried about this. I will take up this issue with the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) when I go to Delhi,”BHA president Dilbagh Singh Bakshi said today. He was reacting to the hide-and-seek game Dhanraj Pillay and Sabu Varkey were allegedly playing with the BHA.

Bakshi was upset with the fact that the two stars did not bother to communicate their inability to play for Bombay. “We repeatedly tried to contact them, and even made phone calls to Dhaka where they were playing. We called up their homes but they have not told us if they were available or not,” Bakshi said.

“The BHA spent Rs 3 lakh in welcoming them when they returned triumphant from the Asian Games. The least they can do is inform us,” Bakshi lamented. He denied reports that the duo had told the BHA in January itself that they would not be available for the National Games and the National Championships.

It is learned that Pillay and Varkey, who had returned from Bangladesh a few days ago, are to leave for Dhaka tomorrow to complete their league commitments.