Sohail Abbas was sacked for playing in the German league without permission

Karachi: Pakistan have fired their hockey captain and two players ahead of a clash with India in a double-leg international invitational hockey meet in Australia later this month, officials said on Wednesday. Mohammed Nadeem was sacked on disciplinary grounds along with two key players — penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas and left half Mohammad Waseem — who took part in the professional league in Germany without seeking permission from the Pakistan Hockey Federation.

Goalkeeper Ahmed Alam replaced Nadeem as skipper for the meet to be held in Perth and Sydney from May 29 to June 8. The meet includes India and Australia and an Australia A team.

“We can sacrifice any player to maintain discipline as no one is bigger than the sport,” Pakistan hockey chief General Mohammed Aziz Khan said.

The tournament will pit Pakistan against India for the first time since last month’s rapprochement steps initiated by the neighbours.

The two sides met in multinational hockey events, with Pakistan beating India in the third-fourth play-off in the Champions Trophy in Germany in August last year, while a month later India beat Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Asian Games in Busan.

THE SQUAD — Ahmed Alam, Salman Akber, Tariq Imran, Ali Raza, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ghazanfar Ali, M. Saqlain, Dilawar Hussain, Imran Rasool, Adnan Maqsood, Rehan Butt, Mudassar Ali Khan, Kashif Jawwad, Shabbir Hussain, Saleem Khalid, Shakeel Abbasi, Tariq Aziz, Aqeel Hussain.

Meanwhile, Australia announced that they would play the tournament without star player Mark Knowles, who is out due to an injury, adds a report from Sydney.