'Azlan, a chance for the rookies'

India’s chief hockey coach Michael Nobbs does not have high expectations from his squad in the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia but said that the tournament would serve as an ideal platform for identifying players for the Junior World Cup scheduled later this year.

With an aim to build a strong reserve pool, India has fielded its development squad for the Azlan Shah Cup and rested six of its senior players, including regular skipper Sardar Singh.

“We had some objectives in mind when we selected the team for the Azlan Shah Cup. Our main aim is to build a strong team for the Junior World Cup and we can achieve that only by giving as much international exposure as possible to the junior players,” Nobbs told PTI before leaving for Ipoh, Malaysia.

“It is also a good opportunity to draft in some junior players as they are the future of Indian hockey. It will also create a healthy competition for places in the team.

“Mandeep’s (Singh) performance in the Hockey World League is a prime example of the fact that junior players need development.  Mandeep found international hockey lot tougher than Hockey India League. He has got talent but requires development,” he said.