Imran Butt, a silver medallist at the 2014 Asian Games and Champions Trophy, could not have cared less about hockey for it had no room for him, a left-handed player. Cricket, on the other hand, made no such distinction.
“I wanted to play as a forward but found there were no lefties here. So, cricket was fine for me. Azhar Ali (a former Pakistan cricketer) was a good friend and we used to play together. He is still one of my closest friends,” recalls Imran.
Things were brighter for Imran’s elder brother, Rehan Butt. Five years older than him, Rehan had found a companion in the hockey stick. He was a sensation for his school and club teams, flourishing in the role Imran yearned for.
It was after a performance at an intra-school tournament in Lahore that got Rehan unrelenting support from his parents. Academics could take a back seat for me, Rehan remarks with a cheeky smile.
“Pehli baar jo padhai ki talvar uthee thi hamare sar se” (The first time the pressure of academics from parents relented) was after a school tournament called Jaffer Memorial in Lahore. I was the best player in that. I got a ticket for the Umrah (a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia) as a prize. So, my father was delighted that at such a young age I got him an Umrah, and he always promoted me to continue playing,” says Rehan.
The Imran puzzle, however, still needed solving. Long interventions to at least try a right-handed stick and tagging him along to watch his club matches yielded no results.
What ultimately pulled Imran to the sport were dire circumstances.
“He was playing one day for his club and I was sitting in the stands watching him,” recollects Imran. “His team’s goalkeeper did not turn up. Rehan bhai asked me to just wear the pads and stand in front of the goal.
“It was new for me. I did not have the faintest idea of how to stop a ball. It came on my left side and I put my hand in the way. It was fun seeing the ball deflect off my glove like a spring. That was my start,” says Imran.
THE GIST
Many years later, Rehan shares a sense of pride that his makeshift solution in the spur of the moment culminated in the two brothers contributing to Pakistan hockey’s rich history.
“After that day, there was no turning back for Imran. He progressed in a blink. When he joined the Pakistan camp, he was probably not that great but improved a lot and became one of the best in the world,” says Rehan.
Imran was the third addition to the hockey bandwagon in the Butt household. The eldest brother, Rehman, was gunning to play for the Green Shirts too.
Rehman and Rehan were the first to break in. How it happened is a tale in itself.
“There is a famous college in Lahore — the Government College. Its students are called Ravians. And people take pride in being associated with the name,” says Rehan.
“I was not that good in studies, to tell you the reality. Neither was Rehman. Passing marks hee lete the (We used to get passing marks). Imran was much better than us. All we had was hockey. When we gave our matric exams and went for admission, we somehow managed to top the merit list in the sports quota. That was a proud moment for us.”
Within a year, the brothers were in the Pakistan camp. But that’s as far as they trod the same path. Six months later, Rehan was on the team for the 2002 Champions Trophy in Cologne. In the bronze-medal match, he struck twice in a minute to pull Pakistan from a 2-3 deficit to a 4-3 win against India to turn into an overnight sensation.
For Rehman, the wait on the standby list never ended. Dejected at the snub, he took up a government job. He remains associated with hockey to date, though, coaching a college team in Lahore.
Imran, meanwhile, was knocking at the door. He made it to the junior side in 2006 for a four-nation tournament in Singapore. His first senior cap came six years later.
Despite making it to the national side, Imran and Rehan share a common regret. The brothers were not able to play together in the senior team. By the time Imran was a regular in the senior setup, Rehan was in his twilight. A small opportunity arrived during the 2012 London Olympics but Imran was dropped right before the event.
They were together for the 2014 World Cup, although Rehan was in as a coach.
After they drew curtains on their playing days, Rehan in 2012 and Imran in 2018, the brothers came on board with the coaching staff too. Imran worked as the goalkeeping coach under Siegfried Aikman and Rehan has had multiple stints, the most recent being as an assistant coach with the current team for the Asian Champions Trophy.
Both are passionate about the sport, and their return to the sport marks an attempt to try and arrest Pakistan’s slide into a bottomless pit that many fear. For Imran, it is about updating and upgrading the sport. Rehan sees a way through by incentivising youngsters to take up hockey.
Distinct as their approaches might be, the brothers are back for a common cause. They could not play together on the field, but Imran and Rehan have united off it. The pair has won countless accolades as players that secure them a place in history, but it’s their initiative to restore lost glory as coaches that tops off their servitude to Pakistan hockey.
