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Shafqat, Abbas dropped because of below-par form in World Cup Qualifiers
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
By Khalid Hussain
KARACHI: Pakistan on Monday made two changes to the squad that won the World Cup Qualifiers in Lille, bringing in a couple of youngsters in the touring party for the Champions Challenge which will get underway in Salta (Argentina) from December 6.
Umar Bhutta and Muhammad Rizwan are the two newcomers in the Pakistan team, earning berths in an 18-man squad at the expense of Shafqat Rasool and Abbas Haider. The changes were made by the national selection committee that witnessed one-day trials at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore before naming the squad for the eight-nation Champions Challenge — the qualifying event for the elite Champions Trophy.
Shafqat, a former national junior team captain, paid the price for his indifferent form in the World Cup Qualifiers in Lille (France) earlier this month. He was replaced by Bhutta, a promising youngster who plays for Habib Bank on the domestic circuit.
Abbas, who like Shafqat was regarded as an important player, has also been dropped for similar reasons. The forward, who played a full season of league hockey in Europe recently, made way for Pakistan Army’s Rizwan.
Shahid Ali Khan, the Pakistan coach, told ‘The News’ that by making the two changes, national selectors have given a clear message that no player can take his place in the national team for granted.
“There is no doubt that Shafqat and Abbas are good players but they have been pretty ordinary in recent times both in tournaments and during camp training,” said Shahid. “The two boys were not in good form in Lille. Their performance during the national camp in Lahore was also below-par which is why it has been decided to give two more hard working youngsters a chance in Argentina,” said Shahid, a former Olympian.
“Our players have been given this clear message that nobody can take anything for granted. They will have to keep performing to stay in the team,” he stressed. But Shahid made it clear that Shafqat and Abbas remain in Pakistan’s World Cup plans and can make a comeback for the all-important event by bringing an improvement in their form and attitude.
Pakistan will wind up their training for the Champions Challenge and will reassemble in Lahore on November 29 after a brief Eid break to catch a long and exhaustive fight for Salta. They will be going there via Dubai and make stopovers in Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires before landing in Salta where the Greenshirts will be joined by hosts Argentina, India, Belgium, New Zealand Canada, South Africa and China.
Pakistan will open their title campaign in the eight-nation tournament with a match against Canada on December 6. The Greenshirts will play a potentially-explosive second match against hosts Argentina on December 8. Pakistan have been placed in Pool B of the eight-nation Champions Challenge to be played from December 6-13. They will play their third and last pool match against South Africa on December 10.
Belgium head Pool A that includes India, New Zealand and China. The top two teams from each of the groups will play in the semifinals to be held on December 12. The event’s final will be played on December with the team winning the event qualifying for next year’s Champions Trophy.
Pakistan squad: Zeeshan Ashraf (captain), Salman Akbar, Nasir Ahmed, Sohail Abbas, Mohammad Imran (vice-captain), Mohammad Irfan, Waseem Ahmed, Sajjad Anwar, Fareed Ahmed, Mohammad Rashid, Rehan Butt, Shakil Abbasi, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Akhtar Ali, Waqas Sharif, Umar Bhutta and Mohammad Zubair.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
