KARACHI While Pakistan hockey hierarchy dropped controversial centre-half Mohmmad Saqlain on Wednesday, penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas has been called up for World Cup qualifiers camp.
Although temperamental Saqlain should have been removed from the squad a long time ago because of history of misconducts, recall to underperforming Sohail is mind-boggling.
Saqlain had always been favoured and pampered by past and current Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) administrators despite his rude behaviour on and off the field.
He was accused of misbehaving with his coach Shahnaz Sheikh during camp before being booted out from 2000 Sydney Olympic squad after complaints of misconduct from goalkeeper Qadeer Bashir during the camp.
The midfielder was sent home by coach Roelant Oltmans for hitting team-mate Adnan Maqsood on the eve of departure to Athens for Olympics.
He staged a comeback only to be suspended for one match for hitting a South Korean player during Azlan Shah Cup.
He was slapped a three-match suspension and 1000-euro fine by International Hockey Federation for injuring Australian Craig Victory during Hamburg Masters in 2005.
Despite being among the five players banned for preferring foreign leagues over national camp for 2006 Asian Games, PHF under president Zafarullah Jamali had recalled him later.
PHF has now plans to utilise the centre-half for coaching youngsters which could be another recipe for disaster if Saqlain takes over the charge.
PHF president Qamar Zia recently has admitted that hiring controversial former goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmad was a blunder.
However, Sohail's inclusion in the list of 31 probables is surprising, especially if one considers his performance at recent Asia Cup where he scored only once out of 14 penalty corners.
Interestingly, Sohail was one of the five players, who were banned by Jamali for skipping the national activity despite being called for the camp.
Another ageing veteran called for the camp is Waseem Ahmad who also had refused to join the national camp while he was playing in foreign league in Europe along with Sohail.
However, the decision is certainly PHF's double standards for they chose to axe Saqlain while they welcomed back Sohail despite his poor performance and history of using player power.
Forwards Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi, who were dropped from England tour, along with Sohail and Saqlain, have been recalled.
But in another incomprehensible move which would promote players power, PHF has allowed Rehan and goalkeeper Salman Akbar to play in foreign league, exempting them from attending the national camp.
Coach Shahid Ali Khan is on record having said that any player who wished to be considered must attend the camp.
Interestingly, PHF had to face outburst from Rehan who had alleged that he was axed for England tour for playing an exhibition match at the launching ceremony of Olympians Academy in Gojra by former coach Tahir Zaman with whom PHF secretary has a rift.
While lashing out at PHF, Rehan had said he might not be available if called after the England tour because of league commitments abroad.
The first leg of the training camp starts from Aug 10, while date for the final phase to begin after Eid will be decided later.
Probables
Salman Akbar, Nasir Ahmad, Imran Butt, Imran Shah, Shakeel Ahmad, Zeeshan Ashraf, Sohail Abbas, Mohammad Imran, Khalid Bhatti, Amir Shahzad, Mohammad Atiq, Mohammad Irfan, Zeeshan Ali, Waseem Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad, Mohsin Bilal, Sajjad Anwar, Mohammad Rashid, Sibtain Raza, Rehan Butt, Waqas Sharif, Shakeel Abbasi, Shafqat Rasool, Haseem Khan, Abbas Haider, Mohammad Zubair, Akhtar Ali, Tariq Aziz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Shahbaz and Omar Bhutta.
