Muhammad Imran named as Pakistan’s hockey team captain for European Tour: Hockey News
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) yesterday, June 7, in Karachi, announced the final eighteen hockey players that will play the European tour along and Muhammad Imran continuing his brilliant captaincy.
This will be the second major assignment for Imran after an impressive leadership display at the last month’s seven-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup that was held in Ipoh among the world’s top-ranked hockey teams, last month.
The squad announced also included the names of the veteran hockey stars Salman Akbar, the goal-keeper along with Shafqat Rasool and Muhammad Irfan.
Their Europe tourney is all set to begin from June 20, with their first stop in Dublin, Ireland, where they will be playing the UCD Four-nation tournament, at the University College of Dublin.
As compared to the team that played in the Azlan Cup, only three differences were noted. The Chief Selector of PHF, Hanif Khan, said, “We’ve retained the Azlan Shah Cup squad except for three changes. 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.”
Akbar, who has returned to the national team after playing his Dutch club league, feels confident about his future performances in the team. He was happy on being part of this Olympic squad and told about his hard-work behind the improvement in his physical fitness that allowed him a chance to convince the selection committee to name him among the final eighteen.
Moreover, Akbar believes this tour to be the best way to experiment the new team with various combinations before the upcoming Champions Trophy, later this year.
Later in their tour, they will be heading towards Amsterdam, Netherlands, where another Four-nation will be played by the team against Netherlands, Belgium and New Zealand.
Hanif further commented, “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.”
The team will be accompanied by their Manager, K. M. Junaid and the Head Coach, Michel Van Dan Heuvel, during the Europe tour.
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