The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) officials will assemble soon to finalise the squad for the Champions Trophy that will be retained for next year’s London Olympics.
While Pakistan team manager Khwaja Junaid hailed the Greenshirts’ improvement, former players criticised the squad formation on the European tour.
Keeping this in mind, the PHF officials – including president Qasim Zia, the junior and senior team management, apart from the selection committee – will hold discussions with an eye on the future.
Pakistan concluded their European tour with a series defeat against Netherlands and while they won a Four-Nation Tournament in Ireland, there was room for improvement. The Greenshirts, who won five out of 12 matches, failed to beat the top sides including Netherlands, Germany and England.
The Greenshirts beat New Zealand in a one-off match and drew a Test series against lowly-ranked Belgium.
The tour, which was termed as a litmus test for the team’s young brigade, also featured senior players like former captains Shakeel Abbasi and Rehan Butt besides Sohail Abbas, Mohammad Waseem, goal-keeper Salman Akbar.
However, the selection committee’s decision to retain the seniors drew criticism from Olympians including Samiullah Khan and former captain Shahnaz Sheikh who said that relying on the experienced players was a “disaster for the future of the national game”.
The PHF, deciding to tackle the situation calmly, has decided to hold a thorough review of the team’s performance as it decides on a possible list of players for the Champions Trophy that takes place in December in India.
“The federation will soon sit together to finalise the squad for Champions Trophy and the London Olympics,” a PHF official told The Express Tribune.
“The meeting will be chaired by the PHF president, who will consider the reports from Michelle van den Heuvel [senior team’s chief coach] and Rana Mujahid [junior team’s chief coach].”
The official added that the management’s report on the tour will play a significant role in deciding the fate of the senior players. “Their performance will be closely reviewed and the junior team officials will also be inquired about upcoming talent which can replace the experienced players.
“The PHF will finalise a squad for the December event and will more or less retain the same players for the London Olympics,” added the official.
PHF lacks ‘readymade’ back-up
Meanwhile, a junior team official said the PHF may well have to rely on the senior players for the two major events as there is hardly any talent that can replace them.
“There isn’t much time left,” said the official.
“There is a lot of talent but it can’t be prepared for the international level in a few months.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ