The Hockey Federation on Thursday axed top players, including the in-form Gagan Ajit Singh, from the Indian squad for the upcoming Pakistan series and Commonwealth Games.

Also dropped from the squad that played in the Champions Trophy in December last year were Deepak Thakur, Viren Rasquinha and Prabhjot Singh.

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The announcement, made by IHF chief KPS Gill, is bound to rake up another selection controversy, something a beleaguered Indian team could have done well without before the two important engagements.

Justifying the exclusions, Gill said, "We have other plans for them.

"We are going to bring them back in good shape for the next major tournaments."

The first two matches of the Indo-Pak series will be played in Chandigarh on February 16 and 18 and the third in Jalandhar on February 20. The next three matches will be played in Pakistan.

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Bharath Kumar Chetri and Adrian D' Souza.

Full-backs: Dilip Tirkey, Kanwalpreet Singh, Sandeep Singh, Raghunath.

Midfielders: Harpal Singh, V S Vinay, Vikram Pillay, Ignace Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, Sandeep Singh.

Forwards: Rajpal Singh, Didar Singh, Sardara Singh, Tushar Khandekar, Tejbir Singh, Arjun Halappa, Adam Sinclair, Shivender Singh and Hari Prasad.

Coach: Rajinder Singh (Jr)

Assistant coach: Clarence Lobo

Physical trainer: Sampat Kumar

Physiotherapist: Ravi.

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