The Pakistani hockey team is likely to miss the services their coach Shahnaz Sheikh during the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy as he is yet to get his Indian visa.
As per reports, Sheikh hasn’t received his visa yet and as a result, he won’t be able to travel with his team to India.
Meanwhile, all the players have been handed their visas after the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) was issued No-Objection Certificate (NOC) by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).
Reports suggests that Sheikh’s visa was applied after his appointment last week.
The Pakistan team is scheduled to enter India through the Wagah-Attari Border on Tuesday and will then travel to Chennai from Amritsar by road.
Notably, Chennai is scheduled to host the Asian event from August 3 to 12 where Pakistan are scheduled to open their campaign against Malaysia on August 3.
They will take on arch-rivals India on August 9.
Squad
Muhammad Umar Bhatta (c), Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Sufyan Khan, Ehtsham Aslam, Osama Bashir, Aqeel Ahmed, Arshad Liaquat, Muhammad Imad, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Rana Abdul Waheed Ashraf (Vice Captain), Roman, Muhammad Murtaza Yaqoob, Muhammad Shahzaib Khan, Afraz, Abdul Rahman, while the standby includes Ali Raza, Muhammad Baqir, Muhammad Nadeem Khan, Abdul Wahab, Waqar Ali, Muhammad Arsalan and Abdul Qayyum.
Pakistan’s schedule
August 3 – vs Malaysia
August 4 – vs Korea
August 6 – vs Japan
August 7 – vs China
August 9 – vs India