Pak make two changes to Asian CT squad

Karachi: Pakistan have made just two changes to their national hockey squad for the Asian Champions Trophy to be held in Doha, Qatar from December 20 to 27.

The head coach and manager of the national team Akhtar Rasool announced on Friday that Mohammad Rizwan junior and Muhammad Umar Bhutta had been dropped from the squad that finished with the bronze medal in the recent Champions Trophy in Melbourne. "Rizwan is medically unfit and Bhutta we felt didn`t give a satisfactory performance in Melbourne," Rasool said. Surprisingly the management which selects the national squad has retained goalkeeper Imran Shah despite his poor form in the Champions Trophy. Also retained are seniors including Shakeel Abbasi and Waseem Ahmed while Muhammad Imran has been retained as captain. The other teams in the Asian Champions Trophy include India, Malaysia, Japan and China. The squad: Imran Shah, Imran Butt, Syed Kashif Shah, Muhammad Imran (Capt), Muhammad Rizwan Senior, Muhammad Tousiq, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mahmood, Muhammad Waqas (Vice-Capt), Shafqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Ali Shan, Muhammad Ateeq, Waseem Ahmed, Muhammad Kashif Ali, Shakeel Abbasi, Muhammad Irfan and M. Salman Hussain. PTI