Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) Pargat Singh was Wednesday appointed manager of the Indian team to play in the Azlan Shah hockey tournament as R K Shetty, along with observer Joaquim Carvalho and three players, including captain Tushar Khandekar, decided to skip the tournament. Carvalho, who was the coach of the team that went to Australia, was to go to Malaysia as observer. But he returned from Australia without intimating the new selection committee.

Carvalho, a marked man after the sacking of K P S Gill, will find it difficult to keep his job now.

“The players are not at fault. It is the mischief of the coach to have brought the players along with him. we will inquire into the circumstances in which the three players had to return when the instructions were clear that they should proceed to Ipoh,” chief selector Aslam Sher Khan told IANS.

The Indian team was competing in the four-nation tournament in Australia till Sunday and was scheduled to leave straightaway for Kuala Lumpur for the Azlan Shah.

But skipper Tushar Khandekar, Baljit Singh and Samir Buxla returned after the Australia tour.

The three players were not part of the original squad picked by erstwhile Indian Hockey Federation, but were retained by the new selection committee. The changes made in the team were not revealed.

Chief selector Aslam Sher Khan, though, said he had informed Shetty about the changes in the squad.

“We had sent the team list to Shetty after the selection. We did not have any clue that they are returning back from Australia. Joaquim Carvalho and R K Shetty did not inform anybody. They should not have done that,” Aslam Sher said.

“We have appointed Pargat Singh as the manager in place of Shettty. Pargat will be joining the team soon,” he said.

As for the action against the coach, Aslam Sher said he would wait for the Azlan Shah tournament to get over before deciding on the matter.

“We do not want to create more trouble for the team. Let the team come, then we will speak to players and the team management and discuss these issues,” he said.

Carvalho had reportedly said that he had intimated sacked IHF chief K P S Gill that he cannot travel with the team because of family commitments and denied pressurising the players to come back.

Aslam Sher, though, said there’s a question mark over Carvalho’s motive.

“Why should he inform Gill who is no more the IHF chief. He should have contacted us if there was any problem.”

Aslam Sher said the team management which includes Ric Charlesworth, will elect a new captain based on the seniority ahead of tomorrow’s match against New Zealand.

“We are not sending any replacement for the three players. We have left it to the team management to decide if it needs any reinforcement.”