Captaincy issue not over yet

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi: Irked by Hockey India’s (HI) decision to ignore the chief coach’s recommendation to appoint Prabhjot Singh the captain for the World Cup, some of the senior players are planning to raise the issue in the team meeting.

“What has happened is wrong,” a senior player told The Telegraph.

“The entire episode is highly embarrassing for the Indian team on the eve of the World Cup. We may raise the issue in the team meeting and ask the management why such confusion was created over the captaincy issue.”

On Saturday, Rajpal Singh was named the Indian captain amidst controversy.

While HI said the decision was taken by the selectors, Prabhjot claimed his name was declared as the skipper by coach Jose Brasa, on the eve of the selection committee meeting.

While sources in the team said Brasa was adamant on appointing Prabhjot the captain, the coach was not ready to comment. Asked on Sunday, the Spaniard said: “Sorry, I cannot answer your question.”

Brasa had apparently nominated Prabhjot as the captain and wanted four more players to be named vice-captains.

He had earlier said Prabhjot should play a key role in India’s campaign in the World Cup.

As Sunday was a day off for the team, Prabhjot decided to travel to Punjab to meet his family.

However, Brasa asked him to come back immediately so that he could be present in the team meeting early on Monday morning.

Reacting to the recent developments, former India captain Aslam Sher Khan predicted the home team would perform miserably in the World Cup.

“What is happening is disgusting,” he said.

“Both HI and Indian Olympic Association should share the blame for this huge mess. These bodies should be immediately dismissed for the good of Indian hockey.”