Sohail Abbas set to lead Pakistan in Olympics

Karachi, Prolific penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas will lead green-shirts in Olympics as national selectors named 20-man squad for London Games.

The team was announced after trials at the Abbottabad training camp Sunday. Striker Waqas Sharif will act as deputy to Sohail Abbas.

Meanwhile, former captains Shakeel Abbasi, Rehan Butt, Mohammad Imran and Waseem Ahmed have been recalled in the squad.

But Salman Akbar who was recalled for the final phase of training camp failed to impress the selectors as goal-keepers Imran Shah and Imran Butt got the final nod.

A selector said the best available players were selected for Olympics. The team has both the junior and senior players, a selector told PPI. Fitness and recent form were the main criteria for selection.

He added that two players will be dropped from the announced list as Pakistan will send an 18-man squad to Olympics.
Pakistan squad: Goal-keepers: Imran Shah, Imran Butt. Full-backs: Mohammad Imran, Sohail Abbas (captain), Kashif Shah, Mohammad Imran. Half-backs: Rizwan Junior, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mehmood, Mohammad Tauseeq, Waseem Ahmed. Forwards: Waqas Sharif (vice captain), Umer Bhutta, Haseem Khan, Shakeel Abbasi, Mohammad Zubair, Rizwan Senior, Shafqat Rasool, Rehan Butt, Ali Shan.

Team management: Akhtar Rasool (manager/head coach), Khwaja Junaid, Shahid Ali Khan, Ajmal Lodhi (coaches), Faizur Rehman (physiotherapist), Nadeem Khan (video analyst).