OUR CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai: Rajpal Singh, on Saturday, was confirmed as captain of the Indian hockey team for the forthcoming Champions Challenge tournament, after drag-flicker Sandeep Singh was advised three weeks’ rest for his back injury.

“The doctors have advised Sandeep three weeks rest for recovery. They have told him not to exercise,” chief coach Jose Brasa told The Telegraph from Pune.

Asked about Rajpal’s leading the side at the December 6-13 event in Salta, Argentina, Brasa said: “He will lead. Nobody can change that.”

The development is a slap in the face of Hockey India president A.K. Mattoo, who on Thursday denied Rajpal’s appointment as the skipper by Brasa, and on Friday, confidently declared that Sandeep would be fit to travel with the team.

The HI chief visited Pune, where the 22-member squad had been undergoing a preparatory camp, on Thursday, after reports that the players were revolting against Brasa’s high-handedness.

The players were reportedly irked about the rotation policy the Spaniard seemed to have adopted for captaincy.

Mattoo, while addressing the media, had said that Brasa should take into confidence the rest of the coaching staff about his tactics and game plan.

On Saturday, a team official said that Brasa, the players and the support staff sorted out their differences during a meeting on Friday.

A report said that in the meeting, it was decided that henceforth Brasa would pick the captain, based on performance, and the players promised not to question his coaching methods.

“This (Sandeep’s removal from captaincy) snowballed into a major problem. The players were not fully involved in the everyday practice sessions.

“We were at the ground for the training session yesterday (Friday), but did not train,” the report said, quoting an unnamed player.

The squad will depart from Delhi on Sunday night for Spain, where they would stop over for a week to play a couple of practice matches against club sides, before heading to Argentina.

The winner of the Champions Challenge will qualify automatically for next year’s Champions Trophy, to be held in Germany.