Veteran striker Dhanraj Pillay is likely to give the inaugural and high-profile Premier Hockey League a miss, according to sources close to the player.
"There are quite a few reasons for Dhanraj to be miffed at the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) bosses and it would not be a surprise if he skips the event," the sources said.
"One of the major reasons for the player to be unhappy with the IHF is not only the way he has been treated of late by the governing body, but also because he would be playing under a player (Viren Rasquinha) who is junior to him," the sources pointed out.
"Rasquinha is a fine player, but he is much junior to Dhanraj. He would have been happy to play (for Maratha Warriors) under someone like Ramandeep Singh who captained him in past Olympics," they said.
The sources also said that IHF chief K P S Gill should not have made the statement that "in India players do not retire, but have to be thrown out," when referring to the omission of Pillay and a few other seniors from the squad for the Champions Trophy in Lahore in December last.
"How can the same IHF now expect Dhanraj to play in their tournament after insulting him thus?"
Another reason for Dhanraj to be angry is the disparity in the appearance fee being offered to him in comparison to someone like Pakistan's ace drag flicker Sohail Abbas.
"Dhanraj is as big a name, if not bigger, in world hockey as Abbas who has reportedly been offered Rs 5 lakh. Why should not he (Dhanraj) expect to be treated on par," the sources queried.
