Sandeep Singh: Flicker of hope

Despite his defe­nsive fallibilities, Sandeep Singh has mastered the art of drag flicking, for when the guiding elements are in place the scorch of his flick does shred the schemes of most teams. That is when his shots achieve the supposed power and precision. Like Teaka Taekema or Sohail Abbas or Callum Giles.

For all his technical compactness and experience accrued from 168 caps, he is not yet in the hallowed bracket of the aforementioned. He isn’t an underachiever either. As he himself acknowledges, his is a graph in progress but one that prophesies the gradual grafting of a legend.

Nonetheless, he is indispensable for India. He has contributed for each of India’s memorable wins since his re-entry in 2008, a fact asserted by numbers (India has won nearly 70 percent of the matches in which he has scored). Seconded former drag-flicker Jugraj Singh: “He is not just the best we ha­ve, but one of the best in the world. The speed of his shots is incredible, and if gets it right few goalkeepers in the world can deny him.”

Moreover, he has been working on a few variations. “Sandeep has different varieties of flicks. Earlier, he used to power down the centre, almost knee high. But now he can generate the same force in nearly every shot. Like he showed in the Olympic qualifiers, he can hit to any part of the cage without any significant giveaway,” he said.

His defensive inadequacies have been a blight in his career. But coach Michael Nobbs has extended him the freedom to join the attack, which seems a better way to utilise him. Ignace Tirkey’s deep-lying presence assures that the Indian defence isn’t caught off-guard either. “He is useful upfront for he can provide accurate long passes to forwards inside the scoring zone. If you notice, many of India’s goals in the Azlan Shah have come that way,” pointed out Jugraj.

Though not as proficient as Sandeep, VR Raghunath is a resourceful drag-flicker, who was India’s mainstay in their 2007 Asia Cup triumph. “That he is not getting an opportunity in taking penalty corners reflects Sandeep’s class. But Raghu is also good and can be used as a surprise weapon or when Sandeep is not on the field. This means India will have at least one drag-flicker on the field throughout the 70 minutes,” reasoned Jugraj.