Amid the ongoing fallout from the Pakistan hockey team's troubled Australia tour, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi stepped in on Thursday, meeting the players of the national hockey team in Lahore.

 

Naqvi expressed regret over the mistreatment the players faced during the tour and assured them of PCB's full backing. 

 

"Pakistan's honour comes first. We will not let the dignity of this nation be compromised under any circumstances," he said, adding that the PCB would accommodate the players in every possible way and help streamline hockey affairs.

 

He ordered the players' training camp to begin the following day, directing that all logistics be completed by the same night. 

 

Naqvi also instructed that injured player Hannan Shahid receive immediate medical treatment at PCB's expense and ordered tickets, kits, and hotel accommodation for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier tournament in Egypt.

 

The players received cheques of one million rupees each, which Naqvi had previously announced as prize money for their runner-up finish at the Nations Hockey Cup. 

 

"I am not becoming Hockey Federation President but we will assist players till this turmoil ends," Naqvi wrote on X after meeting the players.

 

The meeting came hours after Pakistan Hockey Federation president Mir Tariq Hussain Bugti resigned and announced a two-year ban on national team captain Ammad Shakeel Butt after Australia tour mismanagement.

 

However, Butt himself dismissed the ban after the meeting. Speaking to media following his meeting with Naqvi, he said no ban of any kind had been imposed on him and that the same team that toured Australia would play in the upcoming qualifying round. 

 

He also confirmed that the training camp would begin in Lahore the following day.

 

Reports had already indicated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to sack the PHF's team management, including Bugti and Secretary General Rana Mujahid, following a Pakistan Sports Board inquiry.