Team combination better than ever: Ashraf

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Zeeshan Ashraf has backed the team selection for the tour of Europe and added that the self-enforced break from the Azlan Shah Cup has helped him considerably.

Ashraf, who opted to rest from the tournament in Malaysia, also termed goal-keeper Salman Akbar’s return as a good sign for Pakistan. He said that the European tour will provide them good training prior to the Commonwealth and the Asian Games and the team was eager to learn from their new Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel.

Akbar, who is back with the team after three months, feels he owes his return to van den Heuvel after the Dutch had seen him play before the World Cup.

Another player making a return to the squad is forward Rehan Butt, who termed the Pakistan Hockey Federation’s (PHF) decision to drop the senior players from the Azlan Shah tournament, a wise one.

“I think the chief selector Hanif Khan knew we needed rest and it was a wise decision,” Butt told The Express Tribune. “Ashraf opted out and we were given a break. It was fair enough because it gave the junior players a chance to perform too.”

The players will start practising on Monday in Lahore before leaving for Spain on July 6.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2010.