Recall seniors — Mantra doing rounds in Indian, Pakistan hockey

Former coach Cedric D’Souza in a recent column mentioned that the recall of Dhanraj Pillay and Mukesh Kumar was a positive sign but then added that the Indian Hockey Federation would do well to bring back experienced campaigners like Sabu Varkey and Ashish Ballal.

Even Maharaj Kishan Kaushik,who was unceremoniously dropped as National coach after the Bangkok triumph, told The Indian Express that bringing back players like Varkey and Ballal quot;would add to the team’s strength which is going through an uncertain phase.quot;

Meanwhile, across the border, there is belief in some quarters that Shahbaz Ahmed could make a return to the Pakistan hockey team. After the change of guard in the Pakistan Hockey Federation PHF, with Arif Abbasi taking over as President, the clamour for the recall of former stars, including Shahbaz, has grown in the past few days. But the 34-year-old forward, who last played for Pakistan during the 1998 World Cup in Utrecht, is treading a cautious path.

quot;I have played enough and have no intention of playing again for the National side. There is nothing left to motivate me,quot; the bespectacled star, who now plays for the Orange and Black Club in the Netherlands, told a Pakistani newspaper recently.

quot;I owe a lot to my country, and I would like to see senior players like TahirZaman, Naveed Alam and Kamran Ashraf back in the side,quot; he said.Shahbaz, while appreaciating the revamp of the PHF, has been critical of former PHF secretary Col. Mudassar Asghar for destroying hockey in Pakistan with quot;army-like disciplinequot;. It may be recalled that Shahbaz and seven other players were dropped from the team after Utrecht.

Thus, Pakistan’s poor performance in recent times has had a lot to do with the growing number of former Pakistan players advocating the return of axed players, and the scenario of Indian hockey does not look very different. Except, that the six experienced players were dropped after India won the Asian Games gold!

While the return of experienced players has become a topic of debate in hockey circles, the issue of player-coach understanding’ or the lack of it — that has once again been highlighted by Dhanraj Pillay’s walkout from Jammu camp — threatens to destroy the bridge of trust between the federation and the players.

No differences’
NEW DELHI:Indian chief hockey coach Vasudevan Baskaran said he had “no differences” with ace forward Dhanraj Pillay or any other senior player and any report to the contrary would only “affect the morale of the team”.

“Honestly, there is no problem with Pillay. He’s playing for the country and cooperating well with the juniors also. I am sad reports have come saying there are differences between us or other seniors like Mukesh Kumar. It is not true,” Baskaran told PTI here on Saturday.

The Olympian said India’s priority in the four-nation tournament to be held in Barcelona from January 6 to 8 was to erase the kind of errors that toppled their Asia Cup title hopes in Kuala Lumpur last November.

“This tournament followed by the Azlan Shah tournament later this month will help shortlist the 22 players who will begin the final training phase for Sydney Olympics,” he said.