Dilip Tirkey

New Delhi: A reluctant Dilip Tirkey was included in the Indian squad shortly before its departure for Monchelgladdach (Germany) on Wednesday night. India will take part in a four-nation hockey tournament that includes hosts Germany, Spain and Argentina.

Tirkey, who last played in the Premier Hockey League (PHL) in February is nursing an ankle injury since then, officially said that he was fully fit and was raring to go. But he privately conceded that he doesn’t have the match fitness for an international assignment.

According to team sources, a panicky Vasudevan Baskaran asked the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) to include Tirkey, arguably one of the best defender in the world at the moment, after he found that his team’s defence lacked the punch and quality to play in an international tournament.

As it is the Indian defence looked vulnerable when the team was announced 10 days back as defenders William Xalxo and Harpal Singh were ruled out because of injuries. Baskaran himself called the comeback man Jugraj Singh a 30-minute player while Sandeep Singh was still not considered among the best for an international tournament and to cap it all, Kanwalpreet Singh became unfit a few days back.

Though Tirkey said: “I have recovered now and I was called up as the other three main defenders are unfit,” team sources said he was highly reluctant to go with the team, and was finally persuaded by Baskaran and assistant coach Harender Singh, who is also Tirkey’s coach in Indian Airlines.

IHF secretary, Jyothikumaran said that Tirkey was included only after he passed a fitness test. “After Kanwalpreet Singh got injured, we called in Tirkey. The coach saw him yesterday and found his performance satisfactory and called for his inclusion. Army’s Sunil Ekka will take the place of Xalxo,” the IHF secretary informed.

The irony of the whole thing is that while the IHF has taken the risk of including their best player in the side even when he is not fully fit, none of the other three teams in the tournament are fielding their first teams and are happy to compete with their experimental sides.