Pakistan hockey’s own goal: skipper, star Sohail sacked

Interestingly, all three players and other members of the team that won the Azlan Shah, are supposed to attend a reception to be hosted by President Musharraf on May 21.

However, the trio have been dropped on ‘‘disciplinary grounds’’ for playing in the German league, where they have contracts with leading clubs, instead of reporting for a training camp. The Pakistan Hockey Federation said all three were being dropped for the tour Down Under, adding that Nadeem’s case could be considered on its conclusion.

Contrast this to Australia’s refusal to play in the Azlan Shah tournament because all the top players were playing in the national league, and one understands why the Australians are so consistently good at the game.

The league is paramount there, as in European countries, and one effect of this is the creation of a large pool of top-quality players — vital for success due to the rolling substitution rules. And so deep is their talent pool that they will be fielding two different teams against India and Pakistan.

Despite the recent announcement by Pakistani Prime Minister Jamali — hinmself a former hockey player — to revive the sport, there are plenty of hurdles for hockey in that country. Recently, the government turned down — on apparently flimsy grounds — a request from the PHF to hold the Global Youth Hockey Marathon series of matches between four teams of Pakistan’s junior back-up camp.

In fact, even government jobs are no longer guaranted to members of the Pakistan national team. Till last year, a player of Sohail Abbas’s stature had to settle for a nine-month contract with a government-backed public sector company. With such financial uncertainity, it’s natural that those players who are in demand, will grab at anything lucrative for a living.