Pakistan Hockey Federation announces 20-player squad for World XI

KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation announced a 20-member squad for the Hockey Cup 2018 World XI series, under the leadership of captain Junaid Manzoor, a statement released by the organisation Wednesday night said.

Following two-day trials at the Abdul Sattar Edhi Hockey Stadium, Islahuddin — the team's chief selector — announced the World XI squad for two upcoming matches.

The "matches are to be played on Friday and Sunday [in] Karachi and Lahore respectively", it said, adding that the players "will later leave for a tour of Argentina on February 5".

With Manzoor as the captain and Rizwan Ali the vice-captain, the team comprises goalkeepers Waqar Younas and Adil Rao, Rizwan Ali, Rehan Butt, Moin Shakeel, Adeel Latif, Shahzaib Khan, Ghanzafeer Ali, Afraz Hakeem, Umair Sattar, Naveed Alam, Amjad Ali, Awais Arshad, Rana Waheed, Ahmed Nadeem, M. Ilyas, Waqar Ali, Zakirullah, and Ibrahim.

As per the press release, six standby players include Akmal Hussain (goalkeeper), Ali Raza, Hammad Anjum, Murtaza Yaqoob, Zahan Butt, and Umer Bilal.

While almost all listed players are juniors, Rehan Butt has also been added to the team.

Interestingly, the World XI team was to be led by Sohail Abbas earlier, but his participation in the match is uncertain.

The first match is slated for Friday, January 19th, in Karachi, while the second one will be held in Lahore on Sunday, January 21st, 2018.