To fulfil commitment,Pakistan players put their future at risk

We were committed because we had already taken advance payments from the organisers.

Last year when Rehan Butt was dropped from a series of tournaments,it seemed the curtains had come down on the career of one of the most celebrated Pakistani hockey players. In 2011,his name was missing from the Pakistani team for the Europe tour,the Asian Champions Trophy,the Champions Trophy,the tour of Australia and home series against China. At 31,Butt was deemed to be past his prime. Yet,only a few months later,he had fought his way back into contention,making it to the list of Pakistans probables for the Olympics.

Finding himself in the wilderness,Butt came up with a vintage performance in the national hockey championship last month after special permission from the team management allowed him entry.

Ten goals in the tournament and a commanding show persuaded the Pakstani think tank to reconsider the veteran,and a fortnight back,when the list of probables were announced,Butt was on it. Butts participation in the rebel World Series of Hockey,which would entail missing Pakistans camp for the Olympics,has threatened to throw a spanner in his comeback bid. Mohammad Asif Bajwa,the general secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF),has threatened Pakistani players joining the hockey league that has been declared illegal by FIH with bans.

Story continues below this ad

It is not just Rehan who has endangered his immediate future with the national team due to the involvement in the WSH. Former Pakistan captain Shakeel Abbasi is another who has risked his international career,and is upfront about his reasons for participation in the league. He says the financial incentives played a part,and so did the fact that the players had committed themselves to the organisers. Money was one of the factors. We were committed because we had already taken advance payments from the organisers. If we wouldnt have turned up we would have fallen in their esteem. I feel hockey should be kept free from politics, said Abassi. Butt contends that the event can still be used as a prepatory exercise for the Olympics and that when the players had agreed to sign up for the league,the tournament was not blacklisted. Our focus is still the Olympics and we will use the WSH as a platform to prepare for the event. PHF tried not to let us join WSH but we had made prior commitments to the organisers. Moreover,before March 30,when we signed for WSH,there was not any dispute between HI and IHF, said Butt.

However,one of the bigger disappointments for the Pakistani contingent is the absence of their Indian counterparts.

There is dignity,fame and money here. I wish top Indian players were playing in the tournament. They would have been crowd pullers, said Abbasi.

Apart from Abbasi and Butt the other Pakistani players participating in the tournament are Zeeshan Ashraf,Adnan Maqsood,Waseem Ahmed and Tariq Aziz.