Sardar Singh likely to be kept out from the 18-member men's hockey team for Commonwealth Games
CHENNAI: It looks likely that Sardar Singh will not find a mention in the 18-man squad when the men’s team for the Commonwealth Games is announced on Tuesday. The midfield veteran, who captained India during their recent trip to Ipoh for the Sultan Azlan Shah meet, isn’t the only experienced campaigner to miss out. A few other seniors that made the trip to the 6-Nations Invitational tournament to Malaysia last week have also not made the cut.
“See, we have got two teams now and it’s not possible for every player to play in all tournaments,” a source in the know told Express. “The likes of Sardar (Singh) played in the Azlan Shah so they will be rested here. Other players like SK Uthappa also played and hasn’t made the squad,” the source added.
There has been intense speculation over the future of Sardar, a one of the best players the country has produced. This snub will add further fuel to the fire as to whether Hockey India asked the 31-year-old to retire after the Azlan Shah meet. But those claims were rubbished by the source.
“As you very well know, 2018 is going to be a very busy year, with lots of tournaments. After CWG, there is going to be the Asian Champions Trophy, the Asian Games, maybe the Champions Trophy and then the World Cup. I am pretty sure he will play in some.”
The team management have been trying to phase out the influential former captain for a while. He did play at the Asia Cup last year but missed the year-end World League Final in Bhubaneswar.
If that absence was explained thanks to experimentation, he was conspicuous by his absence at the 4-Nations Invitational meet in New Zealand.
Absence from the CWG squad cannot be put down to experimentation since coach Sjoerd Marijne has promised to take the best possible team to Gold Coast.