LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Tuesday announced a 20-member national squad, led by Emmad Shakeel Butt, for the first leg of the FIH Pro League being held in Santiago del Estero, Argentina from Dec 9 to 14.

In the first leg, defending champions Netherlands are the third team besides Argentina and Pakistan.

The PHF has called back head coach Tahir Zaman, who skipped the tour of Bangladesh after developing differences with the federation over the inclusion of a couple of players.

Talking to Dawn, Tahir said that he had decided to rejoin the team after resolving his issues with the PHF.

According to Tahir, the team was well prepared for the league and he had great hopes from the players.

“It is a big opportunity for Pakistan to feature in the Pro League after missing out its inaugural edition,” Tahir said.

“Playing against big teams like the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Spain and England in the remaining legs of the Pro League, our players will get maximum opportunities to get international experience and improve Pakistan’s ranking,” he added ahead of the squad’s departure to Argentina.

The PHF held a reception in the honour of the national team and its officials on Tuesday.

The government for the Pro League participation has allocated a special grant of Rs250 million which will be used directly by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). Though the PSB has arranged the air tickets for the squad, it is yet to pay the expenses for hotel accommodation and daily allowance of the squad.

“We have not yet received the hotel accommodation charges and daily allowances, and hopefully the PSB will clear it in the next couple of days. The federation has to pay for hotel accommodation to the FIH, which has reserved accommodation for all the three teams in Argentina,” PHF secretary Rana Mujahid said.

“We have estimated a total cost of Rs50 million for each leg of the Pro League,” he added.

Squad: Emmad Shakeel Butt (captain), Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Mun­eeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Sufyan Khan, Mohammad Abdullah, Hamad-ud-Din Anjum, Abdul Man­an, Moeen Shail, Zakraya Hayat, Arshad Liaqat, Ghazanfar Ali, Rana Abdul Wahid, Afraz, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Abdul Rahman, Rana Mohammad Walid, Ahmad Nadeem, Arbaz Ahmad, Mohammad Emmad, Abu Bakar Mahmood.

Officials: Anjum Saeed (manager), Tahir Zaman (head coach); Mohammad Usman Sheikh, Zeeshan Ashraf (assistant coaches), Nadeem Lodhi (video analyst), Mohammad Aslam (physio).

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2025