It is always imperative to have a captain with a cool head on his shoulders. It is his responsibility to control his players, and not the other way round, which seems to be the case right now with the national team
THE manner in which Pakistan was able to start off its campaign at the Azlan Shah Cup confirmed the view that I had expressed in my column last week. The opposition is weak, and Pakistan has a clear upper hand in the tournament. As I write these lines, however, the relatively tougher game against Australia and the traditionally exciting one against India are yet to be played. Column deadlines mean I have to submit it before the two games, but I have no doubt that Pakistan would be playing the final on the day you get to read these lines.
The games against South Africa, New Zealand and South Korea were expected to be mere formalities in view of the disparity between the strengths of Pakistan and its opponents. That the opposing sides were able to keep the losing margins within the limits of sanity was something that did not speak too well about Pakistan, but it was satisfying to see the greenshirts taking care of the final scoreline, and halfway through the competition, Pakistan was still heading the points table, which is not a routine happening.
While India’s weaknesses have already been exposed in its defeat at the hands of hosts Malaysia, Australia is definitely one of the best teams in the world and would test Pakistan to the limits. However, working in the team’s favour will be the simple fact that the Australians are trying out young players and are without the services of Troy Elder, which would cancel out Pakistan’s disadvantage of being without Sohail Abbas. I am still convinced that Pakistan shall have no serious problems clinching the gold in Kuala Lumpur.
While everything appeared to have gone Pakistan’s way in the first half of the tournament, one thing is still there that needs the immediate attention of Pakistan Hockey Federation, specially of its chief Tariq Kirmani. The one-match suspension that was slapped on Pakistan captain Mohammad Saqlain is something that has tarnished the image of the team and, of course, the country because every player is nothing but an ambassador of his country, and when that player happens to be the captain of the team, the damage to the country’s image on the international scene is that much more.
It is always imperative to have a captain with a cool head on his shoulders. It is the captain’s responsibility to bring the temperature down and control the frayed nerves of his players when things start to heat up on the field of play. It is the captain’s responsibility to control his players, and not the other way round, as seems to be the case right now with Pakistan when the team management is trying to control the captain’s emotions and aggression.
However, as I see it, the fault does not lie with the team management. A look at the past record of the player should have been enough to check the temptation on anybody’s part to elevate Saqlain to the high alter of captaincy. It was back in 2000 when the team was preparing for Sydney Olympics that Saqlain had to be dropped as he had seriously misbehaved with goalkeeper Kabir during one of the practice sessions. Brig Atif used to be the PHF secretary at the time, and he very rightly dropped Saqlain like a hot potato, for an indisciplined player is no good for the team regardless of his talent, skill and potential.
Saqlain was soon restored to the team after the Olympics after intervention from certain quarters. He was once again under a cloud last year when the team was getting ready for the Athens Olympics. This time Dutchman Rolent Oltman was the coach and Brig Musarratullah was the PHF secretary. The charge against Saqlain was very much the same as was the case in 2000.
The indiscipline on the part of the player must have been severe for two different sets of coaches and secretaries to throw him out of the camp even though he was very much in the scheme on both occasions. That the competition from which he was dropped happened to be Olympics, is itself a proof of how grossly indisciplined he is. For someone to miss out two Olympics on the trot due to some genetic inability to control his temper is something unique, and perhaps the PHF, in its infinite wisdom, decided to reward him for this uniqueness by appointing him the captain.
What happened in the game against South Korea recently was unfortunate. It was a disgrace which resulted in a one-match suspension, leaving Pakistan to take the field without its captain. The magnitude of the problem was not exposed because the opposing teams in the competition are of low calibre. Had it been a crucial tie against the likes of Germany and Holland in a major competition, things would have been much different.
Positive aggression is something that is not just good but an essential part of a player’s armoury. One has to be aggressive in approach towards the game, not towards the players in the opponents’ camp. It is always nice to take out your aggression on the ball and make a dent in the scoreline, but it is horribly wrong to take it out on your opponents and make a dent on someone’s face. Captain Saqlain has clearly failed to differentiate between the two. The PHF will do well to reconsider its decision before the next major assignment. After all, it is a matter of country’s honour and prestige. Over to you again, Tariq Kirmani!
It is always imperative to have a captain with a cool head on his shoulders. It is his responsibility to control his players, and not the other way round, which seems to be the case right now with the national team
While everything appeared to have gone Pakistan’s way in the first half of the tournament, one thing is still there that needs the immediate attention of Pakistan Hockey Federation, specially of its chief Tariq Kirmani. The one-match suspension that was slapped on Pakistan captain Mohammad Saqlain is something that has tarnished the image of the team and, of course, the country because every player is nothing but an ambassador of his country, and when that player happens to be the captain of the team, the damage to the country’s image on the international scene is that much more.
The indiscipline on the part of the player must have been severe for two different sets of coaches and secretaries to throw him out of the camp even though he was very much in the scheme on both occasions. That the competition from which he was dropped happened to be Olympics, is itself a proof of how grossly indisciplined he is. For someone to miss out two Olympics on the trot due to some genetic inability to control his temper is something unique, and perhaps the PHF, in its infinite wisdom, decided to reward him for this uniqueness by appointing him the captain.
