Sohail Abbas ignored, Rehan Butt to lead Pak hockey team in Doha

Lahore, Nov 7 (UNI) Asserting that six senior players, including penalty-corner expert Sohail Abbas, will never be allowed to represent the country again, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has announced a 16-member team with Rehan Butt as the captain for this year's Doha Asian Games.

Announcing the team after a selection trial, PHF President Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, flanked by selectors Khalid Mahmood, Samiullah and Manzoorul Hasan, lashed out at senior players Sohail Abbas, Muhammad Saqlain, Waseem Ahmed, Ghazanfar Ali and Dilwar Hussain for ignoring the Asiad trial and playing in lucrative league hockey.

''I wish them luck but as long as I'm at the PHF helm, those six players would not be allowed to play for Pakistan,'' he said.

''These players have caused a lot of harm to hockey in Pakistan,'' said Mr Jamali, a former Prime Minister.

Commenting on the squad, he said, ''The team is a blend of youth and experience and we expect it to deliver positive results in the Asian Games.'' Shakeel Abbasi would be Rehan's deputy in Doha, he added.

Talented forward Tariq Aziz staged a comeback in the team after serving a six-month ban for injuring an Australian player in Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Former Olympian Shahnaz Shaikh is manager-cum-chief coach of the side.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Salman Akber and Nasir Ahmed.

Fullbacks: Imran Warsi, Ehsanullah and Zeeshan Ashraf.

Halfbacks: Imran Khan, Adnan Maqsood, Sajjad Anwar, and Muhammad Imran.

Forwards: Rehan Butt (captain), Rashid Imran, Shakeel Abbasi (vice captain), Tariq Aziz, M Zubair, Waqas Sharif and Mudassar Khan.

Standbyes: Farhan Ahmed (goal keeper), M Atif, Kashif Ali (fullbacks), Muhammad Zaheer, Muhammad Javed, Rana Asif (halfbacks), Muhammad Ishtiaq, Haseem Khan, Mustansar Shaikh and Kashif Yaqoob (forwards).

UNI XC AY SAM PM1410