KARACHI In a bid to regain lost glory, Pakistan hockey administrators have opted to promote indiscipline, welcoming back the duo of penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas and half-back Waseem Ahmad for the Asia Cup in Malaysia.
The PHF President Qasim Zia and Secretary Asif Bajwa have brought back the pair, although the two players seem to prefer playing in foreign leagues rather than representing their country.
Once indispensable for the national side, Sohail and Waseem's rollercoaster careers are tainted with several cases of indiscipline. Sohail first came into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons for ditching Pakistan team, preferring instead to play in European leagues.
Both Sohail and Waseem opted to play in overseas leagues, skipping back-to-back four-nation tournaments in Australia six years ago. They tendered apologies and were included in the Champions Trophy squad after being slapped meager Rs100,000 fines by the then PHF president General Aziz Khan and secretary Brig Musarrat Ullah Khan.
They called it quits soon after 2004 Champions Trophy in Lahore, saying they wanted to allow youngsters to have a chance. Furious over their 'retirements' PHF ordered them time and again to report to national camps, but to no avail.
In a bid keep to their contracts with foreign clubs intact, the pair rejoined the squad in 2006 to represent Pakistan at the Madrid Champions Trophy and World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany, only to leave Pakistan in the lurch once more.
They were banned in December 2006 by PHF president Zafarullah Jamali along with controversial centre-half Mohammad Saqlain, half-back Ghazanfar Ali and defender Dilawar Hussain, who all preferred to play in foreign leagues rather than reporting at the Doha Asian Games camp.
Jamali, however, back-tracked and reversed his decision, calling back all but Saqlain for national duty. Ghazanfar and Dilawar reported but Sohail and Waseem again stayed away from national camp.
At the domestic level, Sohail was sacked last May by his department SSGC for remaining absent without leave to play in a foreign league. Ironically, Sohail now says 'Pakistan should come first for every player.'
But the question remains how the current Asia Cup squad could lift sagging fortunes of Pakistan hockey since there are quite a few new faces and Sohail and Waseem have never played with the present combination.
Apart from Sohail and Waseem, forward Rehan Butt and goalkeeper Salman Akbar are also back in the squad after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Rehan and Salman were also not available after the Beijing Games because of commitments with their foreign clubs.
PHF violated every rule and criteria it had made and known clear for the selection. First, Waseem has been selected, although he has hamstring injury and hardly attended the training camp. Likewise, forward Tariq Aziz is also believed to be suffering from hamstring problem.
To make matters worse, Salman has been included, although he also never attended the camp. According to coach Shahid Ali Khan, every player should be available three weeks before the event and be physically fit if he wants to be considered.
Interestingly, selectors have once again opted for one goalkeeper in Salman, dropping out-of-form Nasir Ahmad, while Zeeshan Ashraf has been retained as captain.
Little-known underachievers Zeeshan Ali and Sibtain Raza who were part of Azlan Shah Cup squad and were declared 'promising players' by Shahid, have now been discarded. The squad was selected after two-day trials in Lahore.
Asif, who was busy at a meeting, was not available for comments.
The Asia Cup, which also serves as qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup in India, rolls off in the Malaysian city of Kuantan on May 8. Pakistan face Asian Games silver medallists China in the first match on the opening day.
Squad
Goalkeeper Salman Akbar.
Full-backs Zeeshan Ashraf (captain), Sohail Abbas, Mohammad Imran.
Half-backs Hafiz Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Saqlain, Fareed Ahmad, Dilawar
Hussain, Sajjad Anwar, Waseem Ahmad.
Forwards Rehan Butt, Waqas Sharif, Tariq Aziz, Haseem Khan, Shakeel Abbasi, Abbas Haider, Shafqat Rasool and Akhtar Ali.
