Ranchi Rays' coach Harendra Singh says that co-owner MS Dhoni gives the team a free run

Harendra Singh

Defending champions Ranchi Rays have always been the team to beat in the Hero Hockey India League – the sheer tenacity of the side have invariably come to the fore in the earlier editions of the HIL.

The Harendra Singh-coached team made some ‘well calculated moves’ prior to the auction, retaining some of its key players (Ashley Jackson, Barry Middleton, Fergus Kavanagh, Manpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra and Kothajit Singh) as well as during Thursday’s auction, snapping up discarded Indian drag-flicker Sandeep Singh for $81,000 besides plumbing for a plethora of talented youngsters fully convinced that these bunch of young turks have it in them to ‘do the job’ in the 2016 HIL. “We tried to bid for Rupinder Pal Singh but could not as Delhi Waveriders bought him for $68,000. We needed another solid drag-flicker in case our captain Ashley Jackson has a bad day in office or sustain any injury. Sandeep has been a prolific from the short corners and his high conversion rate in the HIL will further shore up our side,” says Ranchi Rays coach Harendra Singh.

Harendra, of course, enjoys a ‘competitive advantage’ over most other coaches – being the national junior men’s team coach means he knows most junior boys inside out, which will work in Ranchi Rays’ favour. “We have picked some talented juniors, who will do well in the HIL. Look for Sumit Kumar – he is quite talented – the likes of Akash Chitke, Simranjeet Singh and Imran Khan exude immense promise. We also wanted to buy Amit Rohidas but lost out to Kalinga Lancers. The great thing about this auction is that a lot of players who are not even part of the national camp have been bought at more than a decent price. It shows franchises have high hopes from these youngsters,” he puts his perspective.

Harendra, who has also served the Indian senior men’s team for a brief while, believes Rays have the right blend of youth and experience to retain the HIL crown in 2016. “I think we have the right balance we are looking for. In Ashley Jackson and Barry Middleton we have two guys who can push forward as well as play in defence or midfield and take a lot of workload off from the rest of the guys. We have two good Aussie midfielders – Timothy Deavin and Daniel Beale – our defence and midfield are strong. Our team is ready to retain the crown in 2016,” he sounds bullish.

What about Ranchi Rays’ co-owner Mahendra Singh Dhoni – is he is anyway involved in the process of whom to pick and whom not to pick? “Dhoni is a fantastic co-owner. He never interferes in the team selection matters and gives us a free run to run the affairs. He even tells the boys to give their best and not worry much about the result as the former is in one’s hand and not the latter,” he concludes.