However, Chief Selector Hanif Khan tried to make it clear that Sohail and two former captains - Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi - have just been rested and will be considered for future events once they regain their form and fitness.

"We have rested the senior players because they've seemed to be a bit listless in the camp and today's trials. May be they are yet to overcome the disappointment of the World Cup," said Hanif, referring to Pakistan's embarrassing last-place finish in the World Cup in New Delhi last month.

With the seniors out, the responsibility of captaining the team fell on the shoulders of defender Muhammad Imran.

A former Pakistan captain, Imran was Zeeshan Ashraf's deputy at the World Cup. Forward Waqas Sharif has been named as the new vice-captain.

Zeeshan had decided to skip the Azlan Shah Cup in order to rest along with two other senior players - Waseem Ahmed and Akhtar Ali.

Sohail, Rehan and Abbasi had opted to remain available for national duty but failed to impress the selectors in the national trials held here at the Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium on Wednesday.

Hanif, a former Olympian, said that the senior players will stay on the selectors' radar and can return to the team for future assignments after regaining their form and fitness.

Also dropped from the touring party were experienced goalkeeper Nasir Ahmed and midfielder Sajjad Anwar. Their exclusion means that ten of the 18 players who were in the Pakistan squad that crashed to a humiliating last-place finish in the World Cup in New Delhi are no more in the team.

But there are only three genuine newcomers as most of the replacements made by selectors have played for the country in the past at the senior or junior levels.

Muhammad Tauseeq, a young and fast-improving center-half from Gojra, is rated highly by national coaches. Other rookies in the team are Abdul Qayyum Dogar and striker Mohammad Kashif.

Pakistan will have two new goalies in Imran Shah and Imran Butt. They've been in the picture for some time but never really got any worthwhile opportunity in the presence of Salman Akber and Nasir Ahmed.

Pakistan will continue to train for a couple of days before leaving for Ipoh on May 1. The greenshirts face an uphill task in the Azlan Shah, which has attracted top teams like world champions Australia, Asian champions Korea and India this year.

Imran Shah, Imran Butt (goalkeepers), Muhammad Imran (captain), Amir Shahzad, Kashif Ali (defenders), Muhammad Irfan, Fareed Ahmed, Muhammad Rashid, Zeeshan Ali, Muhammad Tauseeq (midfielders), Waqas Sharif (vice-captain), Shafqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Muhammad Zubair, Muhammad Rizwan, Abdul Qayyum Dogar, Muhammad Kashif, Umar Bhutta (forwards).