An ageing captain, who had announced his retirement from international hockey more than three years back. A head coach who had to step down from his long-standing role with the Australian men’s national team after a shock quarterfinal exit at the Paris Olympics. A squad with an average age of 27.5, with half of the overseas contingent well past 30. And 40.5 per cent of their Rs 4 crore purse to build a squad of 24 players spent on just three Indian stars. It’d be fair to say that before the Hockey India League 2024-’25 season began, the Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers wouldn’t have been considered overwhelming favourites for the title. But Rupinderpal Singh’s social media caption said a story. “They didn’t believe in us, we believed in us,” he wrote. The first part of the statement was an acknowledgement from within that they didn’t boast of the strongest unit. “That was the reason I wrote that message,” Rupinder told The Indian Express with a knowing chuckle, reflecting on Tigers’ HIL triumph in Rourkela last …