Don’t find any logic in our current rotation policy, says VR Raghunath

Despite being at the top of his game, Raghunath took international retirement three years ago. On one side, there’s the 30-year-old representing Indian Oil Corporation in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup, proving that he still has it in him, while on the other, the Indian national team is preparing for the Olympics next year. 

"We have missed a great chance of direct qualification by losing the Asian Games final. But we can't waste time thinking about what happened in the past. It's better to plan for the upcoming Olympics qualifiers and earn a direct entry like a true champion. It's a huge advantage to play in front of the home crowd and I am sure the kind of team we have now, there is absolutely no doubt that we'll make it the Tokyo Games," he said.

"Other Asian teams like South Korea and Malaysia were ahead of us and we had very tough times going against them. And on many occasions, we couldn't even qualify for the Champions Trophy. But things have changed now. We won two back-to-back silver (in 2016 & 2018) and also bagged two bronze medals (2012 & 2014) in the Champions Trophy, which is a huge feat.

The teams like Australia, Holland and Germany dominated us for years but now we have narrowed the gap. They are afraid of us as we have beaten them on several occasions in the last few years. The team is going in the right direction and I am sure, India will hit top form very soon," Raghunath signed off.