NEW DELHI, March 1: Indian hockey campaign for forthcoming Melbourne Commonwealth Games suffered a huge setback with skipper Dilip Tirkey and goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza opting out of the squad.

In another significant development, Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) recalled striker Deepak Thakur, along with central midfielder Viren Rasquinha, who were ‘rested’ for Pakistan series.

Meanwhile, four players, who were part of 20-member squad for six-match series against Pakistan, have been dropped. They are strikers Adam Sinclair, Hari Prasad, Shivinder Singh and drag flicker Raghunath.

The recall of Gagan, Deepak and Rasquinha at a time when Indian team gave its best ever performance in Pakistan will affect cohesivness and rhythm of squad.

India finished fourth in their only appearance in Games hockey tournament at Kuala Lumpur in 1998. They were not included for 2002 Manchester Games.

Team: Goalkeepers Bharat Kumar, Baljit Singh Full Backs Kanwalpreet Singh, Harpal Singh, Sandeep Singh Midfielders Vikram Pillay, Ignace Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, Viren Rasquinha Forwards Rajpal Singh, Didar Singh, Sardar Singh, Tushar Khandekar, Tejbir Singh, Arjun Halappa and Deepak Thakur. Rajinder Singh Jr (chief coach).—PPI