Sandeep Singh

Gurgaon: Just when the World Cup-bound Indian hockey squad was gradually getting over the trauma of losing their key drag-flicker Sandeep Singh to a freak accident, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) created yet another problem for the management.

On Tuesday, after Sandeep was accidentally shot on a train en route to New Delhi to join the squad, the IHF named three players as possible replacements without bothering to consult the technical staff, including coach Vasudevan Baskaran.

Though Baskaran remained tight-lipped during the final practice session at the Shama Complex on Thursday morning, team sources revealed he was not too happy with the IHF’s handling of the issue.

“The coach wants Raghunath to be included and does not like the idea of Jugraj Singh and Vikramjit Singh also accompanying the team,” the source revealed.

The team management feels it would be difficult to select Raghunath ahead of Jugraj, though the former, currently doing duty in the SAF Games in Colombo, is in better form at the moment. “So much so that the chief coach has now decided to leave the decision to the IHF top brass instead…” sources said.

On record, Baskaran was not ready to stir up controversy on the eve of the squad’s departure. “Now that Sandeep is not there, we have to rework our strategy. We are preparing Arjun Halappa to convert the penalty corners.”

India will play a series of matches against Belgium, a German club and Japan before their first World Cup against Germany on September 9.