‘Brasa not happy over captaincy decision’

The captaincy issue in Indian hockey seems to be snowballing into another controversy, with head coach Jose Brasa unhappy over Rajpal Singh being named skipper for the World Cup ahead of Prabhjot Singh, according to sources in the team.

The national selectors on Saturday retained Rajpal as the captain of the squad after some initial reports that said Prabhjot, who was the face of the players’ revolt against Hockey India during the payment issue, was picked to lead the side.

“Prabhjot also had Brasa’s vote of confidence,” a source in the team told The Indian Express. “The coach is unhappy with the selectors as he had told Prabhjot he would be the captain.”

‘Surprise for players’

Meanwhile, the news that Prabhjot wouldn’t lead the side also came as a surprise to the players. “Brasa had told all of us in advance that Prabhjot will be the skipper. Later, when news came in that Rajpal had been retained, it was almost a mild shock. While we don’t have any problem with playing under Rajpal either, the matter could’ve been handled in a better way,” said the player who did not wish to be named.

Meanwhile, Rajpal continued to insist there was unity in the team and he had the support of the players.

“ I am the captain and there is no disunity among us. All the players, including Prabhjot, are together and have been looking forward to playing for the country in the World Cup,” Rajpal said.