KARACHI, 7 April 2006 — Seasoned midfielder Ghazanfar Ali earned a recall to the Pakistan national hockey team at the expense of youngster Imran Khan for the World Cup qualifiers which start April 12 in Changzhou, China.
Ghazanfar, who missed a series of international assignments because of domestic reasons, was named in an 18-member squad because “Pakistan needed his experience and expertise,” national team coach Asif Bajwa told Arab News.
Ghazanfar, a solid half-back, is also a drag flick specialist and is expected to boost the national team in the short corner conversion department.
Youngster Waqas Akber would make his debut for Pakistan as he came in as replacement for forward Tariq Aziz, who has been banned for six months for hitting an Australian player in the final of the Commonwealth Games. A talented winger, Waqas would be a reserve on the left flank in China where Pakistan are entered as the top seeds in the 12-nation event set for April 12 to 23. Waqas Sharif and Sajjad Anwar also made it to the China-bound squad after informal trials held in Islamabad.
The top five teams from the qualifying competition would make the cut for the 2006 World Cup to be held in Munchengladbach (Germany) in September. Seven teams including India have already qualified for the World Cup.
“The World Cup qualifiers is an important assignment for us and in spite of being the highest-ranked team in the event, we are not taking anything for granted,” said Bajwa, who is supervising training sessions in Islamabad ahead of the departure of the national team to China today.
Pakistan head Pool A in the World Cup qualifiers that includes England, Belgium, Canada, Egypt and Ireland. Asian Games champions Korea share Pool B with Malaysia, New Zealand, France, Japan and hosts China. Pakistan would open their campaign in the event against Canada on April 12.
Experienced midfielder Muhammad Saqlain was retained as the national team skipper by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).
“I believe these are the best available players and am confident that they would reach the goal in China which is to qualify for the World Cup,” said Bajwa. The squad: Goalkeepers: Salman Akbar and Nasir Ahmed.
Fullbacks: Zeeshan Ashraf, Muhammad Imran and Imran Warsi.
Halfbacks: Ghaznfar Ali, Muhammad Saqlain (captain), Dilawar Hussain, Adnan Maqsood and Sajjad Anwar.
Forwards: Rehan Butt, Mudassar Ali Khan (vice-captain), Shakeel Abbasi, Muhammad Zubair, Muhammad Shabbir, Adnan Zakir, Waqas Sharif and Waqas Akbar.
