Hockey India’s move to rest seniors for Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is a prudent one

With the Hero Hockey World Round 2 tournament ending on a bright note for the Indian men’s team, the focus would now shift to the 22^nd edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament which begins at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh from March 9 – 17.

Chief coach Michael Nobbs has been vocal about building the team’s bench strength, giving a lot of opportunities to youngsters in a bid to have a bigger pool of players to choose from. This clearly explains why the team management decided to rest the likes of drag-flicker Vokkaliga Raghunath, midfielder Birender Lakra, regular captain and midfielder Sardar Singh and forward SV Sunil for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tourney.

The move to rest the experienced quartet is a wise move considering the workload these guys have shared in the last few months. These players have been part of the FIH 34^th Champions Trophy, Asian Champions Trophy, Hero Hockey India League and the just-concluded FIH Hockey World League.

In fact, the Hero Hockey World League was a grueling affair with many back-to-back matches coupled with hectic travelling. Given this scenario, Hockey India has struck the right chord by resting these experienced players for the Ipoh tourney.

To be fair to them, some of these players went off the boil during the Hockey World League despite their best efforts.

Such a move has dual benefits. First, these players get an opportunity to recharge their batteries and be fresh for the future tournaments. Second, it allows many talented youngsters to get vital international exposure at the senior level.

Guys like Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Harbir Singh, Malak Singh must have been richer with the Hockey World League experience. For the likes of Satbir Singh (who played for Mumbai Magicians), Amit Rohidas (he played for Ranchi Rhinos) and Gurmail Singh (who played for Punjab Warriors and was part of the FIH Champions Trophy but was dropped for the Asian Champions Trophy and Hockey World League), it’s a massive opportunity to impress the national selectors with a strong showing against some of the formidable hockey teams like Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea and hosts Malaysia.

The Indian defence would wear a young look with Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurjinder Singh and Harbir Singh manning operations without the experienced Raghunath. Similarly, the midfield minus Sardar Singh and Birendra Lakra would count on Kothajit Singh and Manpreet Singh and newbies Gurmail Singh and Amit Rohildas.

The young ‘Singh’ brigade would take up the goal-scoring responsibilities in Malaysia. Mandeep Singh, Malak Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Gurwinder Singh Chandi, Satbir Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Chinglensana Singh, along with Nitin Thimmaiah and skipper Danish Mujtaba, would be eyeing to make a big impression at Ipoh.

One can argue that guys like Manpreet Singh, Kothajit Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Dharamvir Singh and Danish Mujtaba have also been playing non-stop hockey since last December like seniors like Sardar, Birendra, Raghunath and Sunil, but one also has to consider that these young turks can only get better with more exposure.

As for Sardar, Raghunath, Birendra and Sunil, they can take a welcome break and be ready for the next international tournament after the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which, in all probability, would be the India-Pakistan home-and-away Test series followed by the FIH Hockey World League Round 3 tourney, which is slated to be held in June this year.

To put it simply, HI’s decision to rest the seniors is a great move if we look at the bigger picture of Indian hockey.