With the introduction of astroturf and frequent changes in the rules, hockey has taken a back seat -- especially in Asia. This has resulted in a more western, mechanistic style of play.

It is true that the beautiful stick work in India is an entertaining form of the game. Pakistan and to some extent Australia have been more successful in the recent past with this Indian style. The problem in India is that European coaches are bringing their theories to the country and the domestic game is neither able to follow its traditional style, nor has it been able to adopt the European style with success.

The drawback with adopting the European style is that at the grass-root level, particularly in the hockey bastion of Punjab, to hire European coaches in those areas is practically not feasible. This creates problems when  players come in at the international level and are told to adopt the European style.

A very similar sort of things is going to happen to cricket in the near future, with the power game taking precedence over style and elegance. Who is interested in classical cover drives when you are instructed to clear the ground? I will not be surprised if Twenty20 becomes the most popular form of cricket in a few years.

What style of hockey do you prefer? Send your views to Sportingo.