Dazzling dribbler can’t wait to be on big stage again

Shivani Naik

Dhanraj Pillay recalls sleeping very little or not at all, the nights before he played against Pakistan. Or drum-beating himself into tutored sleep, and coaxing calm into his nerves to accumulate energy which could be unleashed in the relentless interrogation of his stamina when playing Australia. The 43-year-old says he can summon those pre-game rituals at will, and will trigger those impulses as he readies to return to hockey’s global rostrum, with the World Series Hockey as his chosen stage.

Seven years after he last tasted international combat, the itch to compete with the world’s best talents has returned and found a ready platform in the WSH starting December 17. It’s also five years since ‘senior veterans’ were barred from turning out in the erstwhile Premier Hockey League (PHL) teams through a typically arbitrary diktat which keep floating in Indian hockey, which meant Pillay had to forsake drawing circles around opponents and assume a more parked stance of a technical director for Maratha Warriors – not quite the most challenging activity for someone with so restless a disposition.

“I’m excited because I’ve quite simply missed the buzz. I want to prove I’m fit enough for this stage, and not just play on my past reputation. I’ve hit the fitness regimen alongwith my Air-India players who I coach,” Pillay says..

“I’d want the next generation to watch these players and be inspired,” he says. While he nursed his field-rivalry against Pakistanis with great relish in his internationally active years, he’s keen on squaring up against and alongside some of his contemporaries when the December-January meet kicks off.

“Shakeel Abbasi, Rehan Butt, Shahbaz Ahmad — even those names bring back tingling memories. It’d be exciting to play with them or other rivals from Australia and Holland, and especially so for the younger players,” he says..

Pillay will also look for medal-glory, though franchise-styled face-offs might appear as crumbs in comparison to the world-stage he strutted on a decade ago. “Not winning an Olympic medal will be a lasting regret,” he says, adding that making peace with not winning every match and the humility that came with acknowledging a mightier opponent, are some things he’s mulled over the last five years.

“Countries like Australia, Germany and Spain have gone leaps ahead. We’ll all need to learn from them,” he says, adding that he’s glad that while the head-coaches of most franchises are foreigners, the WSH might well prove to be most beneficial to the assistant coaches who are Indians.

While 30-40 countries will watch the WSH beamed into their tele-tubes, Pillay is keen on hearing – once more – the applause of an appreciative in-stadium audience. “I hope I’m picked by my cities Mumbai or Pune. Nothing compares to a stadium buzz,” he chortles. Dhanraj Pillay will await another verdict – nothing compares to his sizzling dribbling stick-work. “I’ll try and earn the applause all over again,” he ends.