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| Hero- sponsors of Olympics Qualifiers |
Here is my view on the Indian team for Olympics Qualifiers:
Goalkeeping- There is no doubt on the selection of Bharat Chetri and PR Sreejesh as they were only two keepers in the 32 players probables list. Exclusion of Adrian D’Souza is not a good thing for the team but both Bharat Chetri and PR Sreejesh are able custodians and would be having an easy ride in the tournament looking at the opponents. PR Sreejesh is likely to be the first choice keeper for Indian team because of his good form in Champions Challenge and series against South Africa. The goalkeeping department for India looks set and its very unlikely that India will face any problem.
Defense-
The biggest problem for Indian team is the defense. To put it in simple terms, Indian team has selected three penalty corner experts and zero defenders in the team. No doubt the trio of Sandeep, Raghunath and Rupinder can defend but they are inconsistent and prone to make mistakes which has cost India many goals in the past. The selectors have failed to find any traditional defenders in the team and the only silver lining is the selection of Sardara Singh. Sardara a midfielder regular handles the duties of Indian defense in absence of good defenders and will have to continue to do this duty in this series also. Defense for India is a worrying factor which when put under pressure scatters. Former India captain Dilip Tirkey is set to join the team as mentor and all the hopes of sorting out Indian team depends on him. For now the responsibility is on Sardara Singh to be a lifeguard of Indian defense and save it.
Midfield-
This time even the Indian midfield looks weak in the absence of Arjun Halappa and his Gurbaj Singh (nearly a clone of Arjun). Due to their absence the Indian team is missing a person who can marshal the midfield and support the Indian attack. The selection of Ignace Tirkey is of some relief as former vice captain of Indian team has experience that can help the team. Birendra Lakra is another midfield option for the team but his invisibility on the field will not help the cause of Indian team. Sardara Singh is also another and the best option for Indian midfield but his main job is to command the Indian defense. So he won’t be playing much part in the midfield. Completing the midfield are young and talented players Manpreet Singh and Kothjit Singh who have impressed the selectors and the coach. This is make or break tournament for both of them but their recent performance shows they are going to have a long career for India. So, the onus will be on Ignace Tirkey and he will have to play A game to help India.
Attack
The department in which India looks totally set is attack. Despite the absence of Rajpal Singh, Indian attacking line up does have big names who can get victory for India. Shivendra Singh and Tushar Khandekar will again shoulder the attacking responsibilities for India and they will be supported by SV Sunil, Sarvanjit Singh, Gurwinder Singh Chandi, Yuraj Walmiki, Sk Uthappa and Danish Mujtaba. Indian team has good striking options, with Yuvraj and SV Sunil in red hot form, Uthappa impressing on his debut against South Africa. Danish and Sarvanjit have also performed well for the team. The only problem for Indian attack is performance of Gurwinder Singh Chandi, whose poor form will be of some concern for the team.
Overall-
The Indian team is not quite balanced but talented enough to see out the Olympics Qualifiers. The Indian attack will have score a lot of goals looking at the weak Indian midfield and defense. The journey in the Olympics qualifiers will be smooth one for India. Once major thing that worries me is relying on old traditional formation. India has gone with 3 defenders, 5 midfielders and 8 attacking players which says Indian selectors still have the formation of 5-3-2 in the back of their minds. Selectors should have taken 7 midfielders instead of five and it would have worked wonders for the team. After all worlds best players Jamie Dwyer and Teun De Noojier are midfielders.
What are your views on Indian team. Let us know below in comment box.
