Wheile Pakistan takes on arch rivals India for the first test in a decade, their former captain Aamer Sohail stepped into Zia International Airport Thursday morning to play for local giant and Premier Division League champions Abahani.

He was accompanied by another Pakistani Mohammad Hossain, who played for Abahani in their early matches of the league, but later returned home after he was called for national team camp.

The two Pakistani national team players will replace their countrymates Azam Khan and Ijaz Junior for Abahani's foreign players quota. A club can register four foreign players, but only two of them can play in a match.

Officials of Abahani, that so far played eight matches with six wins, said Azam Khan and Ijaj Junior had gone to Pakistan during the vacation of Eid- ul-Fitr, the largest festival of the Muslims. They would not come back as their replacements already joined the club.

Sohail will play the first league match in Dhaka when Abahani will take on arch rivals and title aspirants Mohammedans on Saturday.

The Abahani's supporters are enthralled that former Pakistani captain joined their team. But previous experience showed no star player was successful in Dhaka league.

Wasim Akram, who has replaced Sohail to lead the Pakistan team again, had played for the same team, Abahani, but could did a little for the club as well as to fulfill the spectators expectation.

The long list of imported star players who failed to show their performance in the previous years also included World Champions Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga and master batsman Sanath Jayasuriya.