Sjoerd Marijne: If Sardar is doing good, why wouldn't you pick him?

You've picked a young team led by the experienced Sardar Singh for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Is this the final stage of your rotation of players before the big events later this year?

Yes. This will, more or less, be the last tournament. After the Commonwealth Games, we will go to a group of 48 players, 24 for the first team and 24 for the development team. So, the team will be smaller after the Commonwealth Games. The regular players who are not part of the squad for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup are not rested. They will keep training in the camp.

You've often spoken about thinking long term and building a young team for the 2020 Olympics. How tricky is it to fit a guy like Sardar Singh, who is in the twilight of his career, into the current scheme of things with that policy?

It is, but for us that is important. A lot of people will say that we watch only the future. But the truth is, we also watch this year. So, we have to find a combination of both of them. That's why it's good that we can test the players now in these kinds of tournaments, like in the New Zealand tour and now the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. But at the end of the day, it's about their own performance, and they have to show it.

Would it be accurate to say that the end is near for Sardar?

It's too soon to say. We watch players from tournament to tournament, and it's only about performance. If Sardar is doing good, why wouldn't you pick him? But I can't say anything about the future, it's now about the Azlan Shah. And like everybody else, Sardar will need to put in a good performance.

Do you believe the leadership role will spur him on even further to put in a standout performance in this tournament?

Of course, we all hope that. Sardar is one of the 33 players, and for me, every player out of the 33 is really important. It's the same with Sardar, it's the same with (regular captain) Manpreet (Singh), it's the same with all the players that we have. I want them all to be successful. Eventually, we will pick the best team going ahead but it doesn't mean that I don't want the rest to be successful. It's the same with Sardar. He has to show it on the field.

You've switched Sardar from midfield to defence lately, but he is back in the midfield for the Azlan Shah. Any particular reason?

Yes, we tried one tournament with Sardar in defence, and now we want to see him play in the midfield again, where he always plays. That's where he has shown his skills over the years. That said, he has to continue showing it on that spot.