Imran retained as hockey captain

Akbar, Irfan handed recalls for European tour.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has retained Mohammad Imran as captain for the tour of Europe while handing recalls to goal-keeper Salman Akbar, Mohammad Irfan and Shafqat Rasool.

The 18-man squad was announced yesterday for the tour that begins in Dublin from June 20 and saw just three changes from the Azlan Shah Cup squad.

“We’ve retained the Azlan Shah Cup squad except for three changes,” chief selector Hanif Khan told The Express Tribune. “We brought back Akbar to replace Imran Butt since he is back from Netherlands and available for the matches. Irfan and Rasool had shown improvement in the two-week camp which is why we brought them back as well.”

Pakistan will play the Four-Nation Hockey Tournament comprising Ireland, Netherlands and Germany before flying to Amsterdam where, apart from the hosts, the Greenshirts will also take on New Zealand and Belgium.

“This is the best chance for the seniors to prove their worth in the team. I’m hoping they stay in good shape after back-to-back matches [apart from the scheduled series] as selection for the Olympics depends on how performances on the tour.”

Meanwhile, Akbar, who spent last year playing in the Dutch league, is confident about being part of Olympics squad. He said that he had been working hard on his fitness in order to impress the selectors and the European tour will help the team experiment with different combinations and formations before the year-ending Champions Trophy.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2011.