For sure, Sarjit can’t do without four veterans at Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
The four elder statesmen of the hockey team – Hafizuddin Othman, Marhan Jalil, Fitri Saari and Faizal Saari – will form the nucleus of the Speedy Tigers team for their first international duty at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh from May 4-11 under national head coach Sarjit Singh.
Sarjit stated that although the final 18 players for the Azlan Shah Cup will only be announced after Malaysia’s first friendly match against New Zealand on May 1, it seems inevitable that the team will need the four key figures in Ipoh.
Goalkeeper Hafizuddin (107 caps), defender Marhan (302), midfielder Fitri (172) and striker Faizal (285) have a combined 866 international caps and Sarjit said their experience will be necessary in leading his young and untested side at the Azlan Shah Cup.
“These are the four players we are going to build the team around and if their fitness is good and they are injury-free, they should be in the Azlan Cup side,” said Sarjit at the first training session after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri break at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
“But it doesn’t mean that they are automatic choices for every tournament but as seniors, they have the responsibility to guide the young players.
“Their commitment to the team is good. Marhan and Hafizuddin have been training with the team while Faizal and Fitri are playing in the Bangladesh Hockey League and will join the rest in training once they play their last match on April 19 (Friday).
“The final 18 will be announced after the first friendly against New Zealand and we still have the time to gauge the level of all the players.
“We also have another friendly match against South Korea on May 2 and these two matches will help us prepare for the Azlan Shah Cup.”
Sarjit felt that it will not be easy to select the squad of 18 for the Azlan Shah Cup as the majority of the players are uncapped.
However, he also assured that with two more international tournaments – the Nations Cup in Poland from May 31-June 9 and the Asian Champions Trophy in Inner Mongolia in Sept 8-17, this will give all the 30 players in the national team a chance to see action.
“It is not going to be easy for the 30 players to fight for the final 18 spots in the Azlan Shah Cup squad. It’s also not an easy selection process for the coaches as there are a lot of young players,” added Sarjit.
“After the Azlan Shah Cup, we have two more international tournaments and we will be rotating some players so that everyone will get the chance to play.”
Sarjit also announced that Mughni Kamal, who is nursing a hamstring injury, may have to forget about the Azlan Shah Cup.
T. Naaveennash (hamstring) and Arif Syafie Ishak (ankle) are also in the injury list but they will be considered for selection should they recover in time.