(Disclaimer: this is a work of fiction. Learn to take a joke; you’ll live longer.)
LAHORE – The World XI hockey team that will play two matches in Pakistan on January 12 and January 14, will also be politicised like its cricket counterpart that visited in September, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Shahbaz Ahmad reassured the international players.
The players in the World XI side, featuring from top international teams Argentina, Netherlands, Australia, Spain and Belgium were reportedly upset with the prospect of lack of attention that they might get.
Ahmad said that the concerns were valid, but are being looked into.
“Thankfully there’s a match in Karachi as well, so we will give Sindh political players the chance to play something, ahead of the Pakistan Super League, whose final is expected in Karachi,” he said.
The tour will also be taken as an opportunity to politicise the upcoming Pakistan Hockey League, he added.
The World XI cricket side that came to Pakistan to play the Independence Cup, toured in the build-up to the NA-120 by-election in Lahore.
With no by-elections scheduled in Karachi in the near future, and the fact that the nation no longer cares about the national game, the PHF has its work cut out in getting political mileage out of the World XI tour.
