ISLAMABAD: Pakistan hockey Captain Zeeshan Ashraf claimed on Saturday that the national team had the much-needed bench strength to replace any player if needed for crucial World Cup qualifying and European tour matches.

The national team had faced a lot of flak after losing the Asia Cup final against South Korea, thus losing a direct berth for the qualifying round of the 2010 World Cup. A big reason for this defeat, critics said was the non-availability of decent reserve players who could replace the injured and exhausted line-up against the agile Koreans.

However, the captain now claims the team management has worked to fix this by inducting talent from the domestic junior leagues and bringing them into the national fold, thus exposing them to the rigours of the international game.

‘The current squad is a blend of junior and senior players while the junior players sitting outside the ground have a good competence level to replace any player during important fixtures and there is no need for worry,’ Zeeshan told Dawn.

Pakistan is to play a two-match series against Poland on Oct 20 and 21 after which they will be holding a short training camp in France from Oct 22 during which they also expect to play a couple of matches against the hosts.

Players like Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt, Shakil Abbasi and Shafqat Rasool will be key factors for success during the upcoming European tour and also in the World Cup qualifiers.

‘We will be featuring in Europe this month against Poland and France, which will be a dress rehearsal for the qualifying round of the 2010 World Cup,’ said the fullback, a veteran of 295 international matches.

The green shirts will feature in the qualifiers in Lille, France, from Oct 31 to Nov 8.

Asked whether the ongoing training would bring steady improvement in the technique of the team, Zeeshan said: ‘We have pin-pointed our strengths and weaknesses and our training is based on modern scientific lines.’

The coaching officials attached with the squad, he said, were working to eliminate individual mistakes, final finishing inside the D and also on short corners.

He said from Pakistan’s recent successes it was evident that the coaches had helped us.

‘The national team has proved its mettle against strong squads like England and others.

‘We will revive the lost glory of the national game and I am confident enough that the squad has the potential to qualify for the final battle [World Cup 2010],’ he claimed.