Pakistan hockey axe Imran, Shakeel, Shafqat

PHF shortlists 50 players for Sultan Azlan Shah tournament

KARACHI: The PHF selection committee dropped Muhammad Imran and some other senior players who participated in the first phase of the national team’s training camp in Islamabad.

The PHF selection committee has short-listed 50 players out of 130 for the second phase of the training camp, excluding Imran, Shakeel Abbasi, Waqas Sharif and Shafqat Rasool.

The second phase of the training camp for Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament begins from March 5 at Johar Hockey Stadium, Lahore.

It is pertinent to mention here that some of the senior players had left professional league in foreign countries to join the training camp.

But after watching them during the five days training camp the selection committee realised it was time to move ahead and prepare a young team, a source said.

Pakistan have to go through qualifying rounds for the World Cup and Olympics.

Sources in PHF said that after Azlan Shah tournament, Pakistan senior team did not have many international assignments and these senior players were not fit enough to be kept in the team for a long time.

They said they were not likely to be at their best at the time of these qualifiers. “If we did not take a bold decision to make a young and energetic team for World Cup and Olympics, we would remain behind the other nations,” a source said.

He added that the decision to drop these senior players was taken by the selection committee and that no PHF high official was involved in the process.

Imran is considered the country’s best penalty corner specialist. He has played 270 international matches for Pakistan and scored 193 goals.

Sources close to these players said that they did not know they would not be selected. They said they had joined the training camp with full motivation.

The senior players said that they would focus on professional leagues in foreign countries after this decision.

The first phase was held in Islamabad and focused on fitness and grooming of the players. The second phase will continue for two weeks.

After a few days rest, the third phase will be held in Lahore which will last four weeks.

PHF said that after the announcement of the team for the Malaysia tour, it would organise a three-match series between the seniors and the juniors in Lahore, Sialkot and Karachi. The final dates of these matches are yet to be decided.

After the failure to qualify for the Rio Olympics 2016, Sultan Azlan Shah tournament is the first major event for the seniors.

The PHF has directed following players to report to Abdul Hanif Khan, Camp Commandant.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Imran Butt, Amjad Ali, Mazhar Abbas, Yasir, Waleed.

Fullbacks: Muhammad Irfan, Aleem Bilal, Kashif Shah, Asad Aziz, Nawaz, Ijaz Ahmad, Siddique Salman, Khalid Bhatti, Sultan Amir, Munawar Kakar.

Halves: Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mahmood, Tasawar Abbas, Rizwan Junior, Touseeq Arshad, Saleem Nazim, Zohaib Ashraf, Kashif Javaid, Ali Hassan, Faisal Qadir, Rehan Ashraf, Qazi Asfand Yar.

Forwards: Irfan Junior, Umar Bhutta, Rizwan Senior, Kashif Ali, Ali Shan, Arslan Qadir, Abdul Haseem Khan, Taimoor Malik, Sami Ullah, Awais-ur-Rehman, Sheharyar, Ali Raza, Ijaz Ahmad, Fayyaz Yaqoob, Jamil Bostan, Hamid Ullah, Zeeshan Bukhari, Musharraf, Qamar Ali, Owais Khan, Kareem Khan, Akbar Ali and Rizwan Ali.