Pak drop Tareeq Aziz from World Cup qualifiers' probables

Lahore, Mar 30 (UNI) Pakistan forward Tareeq Aziz has paid the price for his violent outburst in the Commonwealth Games final against Australia with his name being dropped from the list of probables for next month's World Cup qualifiers in China.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has dropped the temperamental forward from the 23-player list following his actions during the match, which cost Pakistan the gold medal after being routed 0-3 by the Australians.

Tariq was shown the red card after he hit midfielder Robert Hammond and the Aussies fired two goals after his send-off to seal the match. His ommission effectively rules him out of the 12-nation qualifiers to be played from April 12 to 23.

Tariq had earlier hit a South African defender in the same event.

Meanwhile, the training camp will start on March 31 in Islamabad and Pakistan will select an 18-member team, to be led by Mohammad Saqlain, on April 4, which will leave for China on April 6.

The teams are vying for a place in the World Cup in Germany scheduled in September.

The Probables: Nasir Ahmad, Salman Akbar, Zeeshan Ashraf, Adnan Maqsood, Imran Warsi, Adnan Zakir, Akhtar Ali, Dilawar Hussain, Muhammad Imran, Sajjad Anwar, Muhammad Zubair, Rana Ghazanfar Ali, Shakeel Abbasi, Waqas Vikki, Rehan Butt, Mudassar Ali Khan, Waqas Sharif, Imran Khan, Mudassar Khan, Muhammad Shabbir, Muhammad Saqlain (captain), Ihsan Ullah and Shabbir Khan.

UNI XC PM AY KP1226