Pak hockey coach Rehan Butt turns out as player in Guwahati

Karachi, february 8

Pakistan’s retired hockey international Rehan Butt, who was appointed coach of the national team taking part in the 12th South Asian Games in Guwahati, has turned out as a player in the team’s first two matches, including today’s game against India.

“The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) asked me to enter my name as a player because one of the 

selected players, Samiullah, was not granted visa for India,” Rehan Butt said over telephone. 

“I was forced to take the field as a player but I have enjoyed the experience,” Butt said after Pakistan’s 2-1 win over India today.

A spokesman for the PHF said that the squad was made up of 15 players but head coach Muhammad Saqlain had “requested us to allow him to use Butt as the 16th player to execute his plans properly in the Games”.

“According to Saqlain, he had prepared the team for the games with 16 players in mind and he couldn't change that strategy now so we permitted Butt to play in the event,” he said.

Butt said since no other standby player could get a visa at such a short notice, he had agreed to enter as a player.

PHF secretary Shahbaz Ahmed, however, told the Pakistani media that he was not happy with the refusal of visa for Samiullah. He noted that Pakistan had agreed to take part in SAG after clearance from the government and still visas were being denied to some players. Butt also played in Pakistan’s 3-0 win over Sri Lanka.— PTI