New Delhi: Until July this year, Sandeep Singh was the blue-eyed boy of Indian hockey but a whitewash at the Olympics saw him being axed from the India squad for the Champions Trophy, where VR Raghunath rose to the challenge and became the leader of India's defensive wall. At the Hockey Indian League Auction (HIL) on Sunday, the franchises' interest confirmed that.
While star drag-flicker Sandeep was one of the five marquee players, Raghunath was part of the 246 players in the auction pool. But it was reversed by the end of the day when Sandeep was sold at his base price of $27800 to Mumbai Magicians and Raghunath lapped up amid a goalmouth melee for a whopping $76000 by the Uttar Pradesh Wizards. Raghunath's base price was $13900 but a cat-fight among the five franchises upped it by over five times to make him the second most costly Indian after marquee player Sardar Singh, who went to Delhi WaveRiders for a mammoth $78000.
Sandeep was one of the seven Indian players dropped from the squad that went to the London Olympics, where India finished last - their worst show in the history of the Games. Raghunath instead was elevated as the team's vice captain for the Champions Trophy where a young Indian team put up a spirited show to finish fourth - the first such instance at the event since 2004.
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