LAHORE, July 12: Full-back Sohail Abbas and left-half Waseem Ahmad, the two national players who went to play league abroad despite being refused permission, have returned to Pakistan.

Both players face a Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) inquiry as they went to Germany without the approval of the governing body of the sport. They will report to their department Wapda on Monday.

Wapda spokesman confirmed on Saturday the players had reached Pakistan and added that they would appear before the inquiry committee on Monday.

Sohail and Waseem and former skipper Mohammad Nadeem of NBP went to Germany to play in league. Nadeem returned before the trials for the two tournaments in Australia, but Sohail and Waseem opted to continue playing for their German club.

Nadeem was suspended for the tour Down Under by the PHF as a punishment despite tendering an apology. He was, however, allowed to go back to Germany to fulfil his contract.

In the absence of Sohail and Waseem, Wapda hockey manager Saghir Ahmad alleged that both the players went to Germany after being instigated by the then coach Shahnaz Sheikh. Shahnaz denied the charges.

Shahnaz, who was elevated later as the manager after the death of Col Shahid Jaffery, quit saying he could not carry on after being involved in the controversy. His resignation came after PHF asked Wapda to conduct a probe into the matter.

PHF later reversed its decision by constituting an inquiry committee. Apart from Sohail and Waseem, Shahnaz will also appear before the committee.

Wapda spokesman said that the department did its best to persuade the players to return which could be proved by the record that would be presented to the committee.

For the time being, PHF has not included Sohail and Waseem in the training camp in Karachi for the Champions Trophy in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, from Aug 16.