Hockey India's director reportedly stripped of powers amid growing federation row

Hockey India’s director, R.K. Srivastava, has had all his powers taken away from him by Hockey India’s president, Dilip Tirkey. This has come after concerns that he may not have enough discipline and accountability to help Hockey India run smoothly. This was stated in a legal notice issued on behalf of Dilip Tirkey.

Hockey India's director R.K. Srivastava faces an eight-point notice from President Dilip Tirkey over travel, jersey and governance issues

As per the notification, Hockey India’s director is not allowed to exercise his powers or work in the name of the federation until another decision is made according to the rules of the federation. Four weeks' time has been given by R.K. Srivastava to provide his explanation.

There was another problem regarding the fact that Srivastava had been to the Netherlands for the World Cup held in the previous month. According to Dilip Tirkey, he had actually told Srivastava not to go abroad, as he was required in India for various reasons.

“The matter became particularly serious following your non-compliance with the President’s email dated 02.08.2026, particularly Points 2 to 4, wherein you were expressly directed not to travel to the World Cup because your full attention was required in India for HIL (Hockey India League), franchise coordination and other priority matters,” the notice said.

Hockey India's director faced questioning regarding the decision to change the jersey colour from blue to saffron. According to Dlip, this was an arbitrary decision, and R.K. Srivastava had gone against the executive committee on important matters. Later, Hockey India reverted to blue for their jerseys for the Asian Games.

The World Cup tour had caused controversy in terms of expenses. Former President of Hockey India, Narinder Batra, wrote to Sports Secretary, Hari Ranjan Rao, regarding the expenses of Rs 43.68 lakhs on daily allowances of four office bearers and some members of upper management.

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.