Ammad Shakeel Butt will lead the 18-member Pakistan squad in the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, set to be held in Malaysia on May 4.
Head coach Roelant Oltmans announced the squad on Sunday, said a statement. “He has been given all the powers to decide on the selection of the Pakistan national squad till the time the government decides on the fate of the Pakistan Hockey Federation.”
He selected the final travelling squad in coordination with Deputy Director General of Pakistan Sports Board Shahidul Islam and a representative of the Pakistan Olympic Association Manzoorul Hassan.
Around 44 players including 10 from the Karachi camp also attended trials which were conducted in different sessions at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium in Islamabad.
Ammad Shakeel Butt has been appointed as the captain of the national hockey team while Abu Bakar will assist Ammad as vice-captain. Seven reserve players have been also included in the squad.
Other players include Abdullah, Muneebur Rehman, Osama Bashir, Ehtsham, M Abdullah, Sufyan, Salman Razzak, Arshad Liaquat, Moin Shakeel, Zakaria Hayat, Murtaza Yaqoob, Ghazanfar Ali, Abdul Rehman Senior, Hunain Shahid, Rana Waheed and Ijaz Ahmed.
Oltmans said that he tried to prepare the best team by looking at the available talent. “Our target is the Nations Hockey Cup,” he said and added that after the Azlan Shah Cup, the team for the Nations Cup can be changed.
“We are not worried about the results of the Azlan Shah Cup. We have to prepare a better team, if the players show good results, then we can win the event.”
