Is this a sign of another player-establishment row?

Will it be a throwback to the 2010 pay row which rocked Indian hockey and threatened the country’s participation in the World Cup? There are no ostensible signs yet but the undercurrents are too strong to ignore.

On Wednesday, five players sought the permission of coach in-charge SS Grewal at Sports Authority of India, South Centre in Bangalore. When they were refused, they chose to leave the national hockey camp and represent their teams at the World Series Hockey media conference in Mumbai on Thursday.

Adrian D’Souza, Arjun Hallappa, Sandeep Singh, Sardar Singh and Prabhjot Singh, all captains of their respective WSH teams, knew full well that leaving the camp without permission was an act of indiscipline, but they were too determined to tell Hockey India that if the national body could not keep its promise on contracts and payments, they might as well help themselves by signing up for the $3 million league.

Grewal told TOI that the players had tried to impress upon him the need for a day’s break but he had refused to grant permission for their Mumbai sojourn. “I told them that if they are hell-bent on attending the IHF event, then they need to talk to Hockey India or SAI director (G Kishore). Now that they have left the camp without permission, they will require the clearance of SAI and Hockey India before I allow them back for practice sessions. I have written to both SAI and HI in this regard.”

Interestingly, HI, which has all along been quoting the International Hockey Federation (FIH) regulation that any player associating himself with WSH would invite a ban, finds itself in a quandary.

With its talks with Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) in a critical state – a merger deadline has been fixed for July 25 – HI, which had promised the sports ministry that it wouldn’t penalize players for their WSH commitments, is now in a catch 22 situation.

What perhaps has also come as a big boost is the statement made by Nimbus Communications chairman Harish Thawani that FIH has agreed not to interfere with the tournament.

No official was prepared to comment on the current situation. “The matter has been referred to the disciplinary committee headed by Pargat Singh,” was all HI secretary-general Narinder Batra would say.

All eyes would thus be on the five players who will return to the camp on Friday. Will they be allowed in or will they be turned out?

Sources close to the players said they couldn’t care less. “The five who were in Mumbai today were the players’ representatives. Almost everybody among the 48 probables has signed up for WSH. If the five players are banned, a majority of the other probables will have second thoughts in continuing in the camp,” the sources said. Players will opt to stick together is the general refrain.

The reason for this mutinous mood is not the club-vs-country syndrome. The pay row of 2010, which saw Sahara India contribute Rs 1 crore to end what was one the biggest crises in Indian hockey, was followed by a promise by HI that one of its committees would look into the matter of central contracts and graded payments to players.

Meetings were held during the World Cup in New Delhi where gradations were proposed but over a period of time, very little was heard about their progress.

The players are apparently naturally irked. “It is an unpleasant situation and the players don’t like it either. They don’t mean to hold the game to ransom but do they have a choice? The current situation would not have arisen if Hockey India had kept their promise. Graded payments were promised a year-and-half ago. There is no sign of them yet.”

The sources admitted that Thursday’s episode had led to misgivings but were quick to point out: “Who doesn’t want money? The players have very short careers and need to earn to lead decent lives. Also, WSH is not only about money. It allows the players to figure against world-class opposition with their exploits being recognized by one and all. It is also a great platform to showcase their skills,” the sources said.