By all accounts, the two were very much in the running for inclusion in the ongoing training camp at Amritsar. In fact, during the recent MCC tournament at Chennai, both Pillay and Varkey played well enough to deserve more than a cursory mention. They were thought to be an `automatic choice' in the list of probables.

However, quite shockingly, neither finds a place, strengthening the belief that the Indian Hockey Federation, particularly its president KPS Gill, is not in a mood to either forgive or forget the outbursts of some of the senior players who were axed from the team immediately after the Asiad.

Pillay, during his days as the captain of the Indian team, always stood up for his team-mates as he took on the IHF bosses while demanding the promisedfinancial rewards apart from better incentives. In one instance, Pillay's strident insistence nearly derailed a tour.

On his part, Varkey, the strong and silent type, has never lived down the nervous breakdown that he suffered during the 1994 Sydney World Cup, and, Gill, for one, seem to hold it against the player. Though subsequently Varkey made a comeback, the IHF chief has always shown a marked reluctance to include Varkey, much as Gill might deny it.

Among the others dropped after the Asiad, goalkeepers Ashish Ballal and AB Subbaiah, and right-winger Mukesh Kumar, are unlikely to be included, though a strong case is being made out for Mukesh.

Ballal undermined his own chances with a vitriolic, indiscreet and ill-timed attack on the IHF officials, within minutes after he made the winning tie-breaker save in the Asiad final. Though Ballal's statements were not without truth, his subsequent public outpourings virtually put a lid on his comeback.

In the case of Pillay and Varkey, both were certainthat they would be make it to the Amritsar camp where the team is being readied for the tours of South Africa (Test series), Kenya (4-Nation tournament) and Australia (4-nation), during August-September. Their Chennai performances showed that they were back on top and surely, the Indian team can do with a couple of experienced players.

If there are efforts to include Mukesh, then it is a moot point why Pillay and Varkey are being ignored. Pillay, for one, seems to have mellowed down and has even privately expressed regret at some of his past off-the-field doings while stating that he was not hankering for captaincy.

On his part, Varkey, who prefers to keep his own counsel and remain in the background, has never won the acclaim his talent deserved. Undoubtedly the country's best inside-forward at the moment, Varkey's career has always suffered from the absence of a strong support even within the IHF.

It all boils down to one man -- Gill -- who is virtually playing `God' in Indian hockey. Apparently, evencoach Vasudevan Baskaran failed to convince the IHF supremo that Pillay and Varkey should be included.

Gill, despite his flashes of benevolence, can be dictatorial in running the IHF. The former Punjab Super Cop is practically an executive president. More's the pity that at best of times, he is a difficult man to convince, and given the culture of subservience in the IHF, there is none to stand up to Gill and tell him when he has erred, as in the present instance.

Thus, it would seem that for Pillay and Varkey, their salvation lies not so much in their God-given talent but in the whims of one man.