Once a force in world hockey, Pakistan is struggling for survival now and its Olympic gold-winning former captain Hasan Sardar says even he would have been driven to play cricket given the current state of the sport in the country.
Sardar, who was a member of Pakistan's 1982 World Cup and 1984 Olympic gold medal winning Pakistan sides, feels the rise of cricket and "unprofessional" attitude of the national federation (PHF) has led to hockey's slow demise in the neighbouring country.
"There is no hockey culture in the country (Pakistan) now. People are into cricket more, people follow cricket more. I think that if I was a kid now with talent in hockey, I would prefer playing cricket than hockey. People are charmed by cricket," Sardar told PTI in an interview.
One of the most lethal centre-forwards of his generation, Sardar, who is here as the manager of the team participating in the ongoing World Cup, said Pakistan hockey has failed to produce any heroes in recent times.
"Now kids want to become hero, they want role models. Hockey doesn't have any such heroes at the moment till we start winning."