Pakistan go India way

Mumbai: Five days after Indian hockey selectors dropped senior players from the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup squad, their Pakistani counterparts went one step ahead to declare a fresh side for the tournament.

There are 11 new names in the team of 18 who will participate in the May 6-16 tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia. Only seven out of the 18 players, who participated in the FIH World Cup in March, could make it to the squad.

Calling it a strategy to develop a team for the future, newly appointed coach Khawaja Muhammad Junaid feels the move will help Pakistan hockey after the forgettable performance in the World Cup.

“I am happy with the team I have got. The players are young and will be getting international exposure in the future. We want to build a young side and a pool of young players who can be ready,” said the coach.

On whether he will miss the services of experienced players, including Sohail Abbas, he said, “They will be missed. But the more we miss them, the more we will delay in forming a team for the future. It will be good to prepare the next lot so that we don’t miss them.”

The coach said that the average age of the team is 22 years and their youngest player Muhammad Tauseeq, is 16-year-old.

Junaid said his team will not aim for podium in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and it will rather concentrate on improving their game and sticking to their strategy.

“We have chalked out strategies against every team, including India. We would like to focus on implementing our strategies and improve our game, rather than aiming for the podium,” said Junaid.