April 23, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 16, 1429

LAHORE, April 22: An 18-member Pakistan hockey team, with Zeeshan Ashraf as captain and five junior players who are currently on tour in South Africa, has been announced for the Azlan Shah Cup and the European tour here on Tuesday.

The team was selected soon after the conclusion of the two-day trials that were under way at the National Hockey Stadium’s outer ground.

The five youngsters included in the side are Mohammad Irfan, Atiq Ahmed, Fareed Ahmed, Shafqat Rasool and Zubair Ahmed, who have already played for the senior side during its last tour of China.

The team along with 10 standbys was announced by Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Zafarullah Khan Jamali flanked by the entire selection committee of Islahuddin Ahmed and chief coach Khawaja Zaka-ud-Din.

“We decided to give the youngsters a chance after seeing them perform so well in South Africa. Their induction will introduce fresh blood into the team,” said the PHF president.

When asked whether it was wise to include five new players with the Beijing Olympics just round the corner, Jamali was of the view that there was still enough time and with the Azlan Shah Cup and the tour of Europe, the youngsters will have had enough experience to deliver in the Olympics.

“We have expanded our backup and it is time to assess its strength in the forthcoming competitions, before giving it a chance in the Olympics,” he said.

In a close fight between the two goalkeepers Fasih-ur-Rehman and Nasir Ahmed, it was the latter’s experience, which helped him earn a place in the team.

With the youngsters having toured China with the national team, it was not that difficult for chief coach Zaka to adjust a good number of players in the squad.

“They will join the training camp after playing a good series in South Africa. I therefore think that fitness wise they will be in better shape,” he said.

“The boys have made big improvement in their fitness and are likely to improve further before the Olympics,” he said.

The team that was selected purely on merit according to chief selector Islahuddin, is a good combination of youth and experience.

“Merit has been given top priority in selecting the team and the decision of inducting the youngsters will pay dividends,” he said.

While hailing the selection of the team, Captain Zeeshan believes that it is quite capable of winning the Azlan Shah Cup.

“I will not go for the victory stand in the Azlan Shah Cup but for the top position itself as the team is quite able to beat teams like Malaysia, New Zealand and India in the tournament,” he said.

“Winning the Azlan Shah Cup will also boost the boys’ morale to do better in Europe, which is most important for us to really evaluate the side’s potential,” he added. He said the team was a bit lacking in penalty corner conversions as was seen in China, but the team management was trying to overcome that through more drills in the ongoing camp.

“We could score just three goals on short corner in China which is definitely not encouraging performance and we are trying to improve on it,” he said.

“The second field where more work is required is the half line, which also could not click fully in China.”

The Azlan Shah Cup will be held at Ipoh, Malaysia, from May 8 to 17. From Malaysia the team departs for the European tour.

Team:

Goalkeepers: Salman Akbar, Nasir Ahmed.

Full backs: Zeeshan Ashraf (captain), M. Imran (vice-captain), Mohammad Atiq, Kamran Ahmed.

Half backs: Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Saqlain, Fareed Ahmed, Mohammad Javed.Forwards: Waqas Sharif, Rehan Butt, Shakil Abbasi, Mohammad Zubair, Hyder Abbas, Waqas Akbar, Shabbir Khan and Shafqat Rasool.

Stand-byes: Fasih-ur-Rehman, Imran Warsi, Shahid, Waqas Zafar, Nadeem Ahmed, Mohammad Irshad, Saeed Shah, Akhtar Ali, Mudassar Abbas, Azhar Iqbal.