Mukesh to lead for Azlan Shah

Versatile forward Mukesh Kumar was recalled and named captain of a newlook Indian hockey team for the 11th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament even as Dhanraj Pillay failed to find a place in it.

In a massive reshuffle, only five players from the 18-member squad which represented the country at the just-concluded World Cup qualifiers in Edinburgh, Scotland, where India finished fifth, have been retained for the Kuala Lumpur tourney, from August 2 to 12. .

Coach Cedric D'Souza and his deputy C R Kumar also do not figure in the list of officials released by Indian Hockey Federation.

The players who have been retained from the Edinburgh squad are goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan, defender Dilip Tirkey, Bimal Lakra, forward Paramjeet Singh and Daljit Dhillon.

Former Olympian Baldev Singh will be the coach of the side and will be assisted by Ripudaman.

According to IHF sources, Baldev Singh and Ripudaman had conducted the coaching-cum-training camp at Jammu, and since 13 players from that camp have been inducted into the side, it was decided to give charge of the Kuala Lumpur-bound team to the same coaches.

The team:
Bharat Humar, Devesh Chauhan, Bikramjit Singh, Anurag Raguvanshi, Dilip Tirkey, Jugraj Singh, S.S.Gill, Bimal Lakra, M.K. Prakash, Paramjeet singh, Ignace Tirkey, Mukesh Kumar (captain), Sabu Varkey, Deepak Thakur, Tejbir Singh, Parminder Singh, Baljit Singh Chandi and Daljit Dhillon.

Coach: Baldev Singh, Asst. coach: Ripudaman; Manager:A P.Singh; Doctor: Rajkumar Jaipal; Umpire: Mohammad Muneer.

Those from the Edinburgh squad who have been left out for the Azlan Shah are: Captain Baljit Singh Dhillon, Jude Menezes, Kanwalpreet Singh, Lazarus Barla, Arjun Hallapa, Brojen Singh, S Thirumalvalavan, Baljeet Saini, R. Radhakrishnan, Prabhjot Singh, Gagan Ajit, Bipin Fernandez and Sameer Dad.

According to sources, Cedric D'Souza may go to Kuala Lumpur as an observer.