0
The 1984 Olympic gold medallist didn't mince words when he said although he would ask the foreign coach to give his input on the selection matters, he would not be allowed to take decisions on his own, completely brushing aside selection committee.
“One thing I want to make clear that I and my selectors will be in total command of the selection matters. I may ask the foreign coach about his opinion on the selection. We will consider his input. But if I feel that foreign coach is not ready to consider our existence, then either I will step down as chief selector or he will leave,” Hanif said in an exclusive interview with Dawn.com.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has already decided to hire a foreign coach and is in process of negotiations with hockey maestro German Paul Lissek who is in Lahore. Lissek met top PHF officials to negotiate and is expected to take over charge of Pakistan side for the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia which starts from May 6.
Foreign coaches, who are professionals, never allow interference in selection matters. The selection committee under Akhtar Rasool had become a farce when Dutchman Roelant Oltmans had refused to accept its decisions when he was the Pakistan coach in 2004.
Interestingly, Hanif has always been a vocal critic of selection committee as he believes that only the coach should enjoy sweeping selection powers.
Hanif considered Lissek the guru of all the hockey coaches, but felt he should be given junior players who can be groomed under him for the future events.
“I must say that any foreign coach cannot deliver results if he is given the charge of the seniors. The best thing to do is to ask him to train younger lot as the older veterans can now never learn at a time when they are about to leave Pakistan hockey,” he said.
The former Pakistan captain, who was at Hockey Club of Pakistan to explore new talent at national championship, said five senior players - Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmad, Rehan Butt, Salman Akbar and Shakeel Abbasi - should leave once Asian Games in Guangzhou were over.
“I sincerely believe that careers of Sohail, Waseem, Salman, Rehan, and Shakeel are over. If they prove their physical fitness and play at the Commonwealth and Asian Games, then these Games will be their last events of their careers. I would advise them that they should retire from international hockey after Asian Games before selection committee shows them the door for good,” said Hanif.
As far as former Pakistan captain Zeeshan Ashraf was concerned, Hanif said, he had taken a right decision by stating that he would not reverse his retirement decision as he was a spent force.
Nevertheless, the former Pakistan coach believed that Sohail, Waseem, Rehan and Shakeel had played enough hockey and did not have anything extraordinary to present to Pakistan hockey.
“Sohail, Waseem, Rehan, Salman and Shakeel may be good players. But they are what they are. They cannot improve now. They have reached their limits. They cannot be further groomed. I didn't see anything extraordinary by any of them. Look how Sohail played today in the match against Army in the national championship. He converted just one penalty corner out of four. It was certainly unimpressive. If he is a star player he should have scored more goals,” he said.
Hanif, however, said he would be calling up these senior players for the Azlan Shah Cup camp and for Commonwealth and Asian Games only if they proved their physical fitness during the ongoing national championship. But at the same time Hanif added that senior players' inclusion in the camp was not guaranteed.
“If selection committee finds better players than the seniors, then we will go for the younger, more skillful and physically fit players rather then half-fit and underperforming veterans,” said Hanif.
The selectors' chief said he would invite physically fit senior players as he felt they can deliver if team management utilised them wisely during the forthcoming events.
Hanif, however, was unconvincing when asked how a player can be called up when he fails to perform despite being fit. “It all depends on the physical fitness which is the most crucial thing for selection.”
The Olympian said although he did not wish his son Azlan Khan to play hockey anymore, he wouldn't object if he wanted to continue.
“If he (Azlan) is called up and selected then it will be purely on merit. And that's for sure,” he remarked.
