‘Duo needs to give written apology’

Indian hockey coach Michael Nobbs, who welcomed the return of Sandeep Singh and Sardar Singh on Thursday, said that the errant duo will be taken back only if it apologises to the entire team in writing.

“They are welcome back, but they need to apologise to the entire team in black and white,” said Nobbs after a training session at the Sports Authority of India campus here on Thursday. “That was the most important condition laid out to them. They need to realise their mistakes and it will be a lesson for everybody.”

Sandeep and Sardar — who were banned for two years by Hockey India after they walked out of the National hockey probables for the second time — got their sentence lifted when they ‘expressed unconditional regret’ for their repeated indisciplinary acts before the Appeals Committee.

Nobbs revealed that he had met the errant duo soon after the Asian Champions Trophy, adding that the decision to pardon them was because of their huge talent. “I had met Sandeep and Sardar after the Champions Trophy and told them that if they wish to come back, and if they do so, they need to follow a large set of rules. They are hugely talented players and sometimes they can go off track.

“They are the sort of players who can win you matches and lose you matches as well. As a coach its’s my job to get them on track and extract the best out of them. It’s a tough job but I am prepared for it,” added the Australian.

Sardar had earlier gone on record saying that the reason for him walking out of the camp was his dislike towards captain Rajpal Singh. When asked if the talented midfielder’s return would cause any animosity, Nobbs said he would not be tolerating any. “There will be no problem. This is a hockey team and I’ve made it very clear to the duo that there won’t be any more let ups. All players will work in unison towards lifting the morale of hockey in India. I don’t want any unhappy players in the team and there won’t be any ego clashes.”

While Sandeep and Sardar can count on their luck, it appears doomsday for fiery goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza who was dropped from the probables list for lashing out at the coaches. “Adrian is not here at the moment. It would be highly unlikely that he would play a part in this camp for the Australia tour.”