Naveed Alam, the Pakistani head coach of Bangladesh national hockey team, included three new faces in the 25-member national squad of the Asia Cup Hockey on Saturday.
Among the three freshers, national U-16 forward Rumman Sarker’s inclusion was the notable one as the player can be dubbed as the most junior member of the national fold. The other two players are Army goalkeeper Sakidur Rahman Situl and BKSP midfielder Shoaib Ali. Rumman was among the top performers of the Bangladesh U-16 hockey team that finished runners-up in the Asian U-16 Hockey in April.
Sakidur Rahman Situl has been called for his good show in the practice as the Army goalkeeper has arrived as a consistent customer in front of the goalpost. Shoaib Ali was also picked out as a talented player in the midfield.
The national camp started about a month ago with 33 players and they have been training under Naveed Alam for the past two weeks. Defender Asaduzzaman Chandan is the notable name among the excluded.
The 25-member squad contains six forwards as the coach seems to be emphasising on attacking strategy. However, the number will come down to the final 18 at the end of this month.
The 9th Men's Asia Cup Hockey will be played from August 24 at Ipoh, Malaysia. Pool A consists of Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan and Chinese-Taipei while Pool B comprises Korea, India, Oman and Bangladesh.
Squad: Jahid Hossain, Aship Gope, Sakidur Rahman Situl, Mamunur Rahman Chayan, Khorshedur Rahman, Moshiour Rahman Biplob, Imran Hasan Pintu, Rokonuzzaman Shohag, Tapash Barman, Farhad Ahemd Shitul, Irfanul Haque, Abdullah al Mansur, Qamruzzaman Rana, Sheikh Mohammad Nannu, Sarwar Hossain, Abdul Malek, Sabbir Rana, Shoaib Ali, Russell Mahmud Jimmy, Pushkor Khisha Mimo, Krishna Kumar, Moinul Islam Koushik, Hasan Jubaer Niloy, Rubel Hossaina and Rumman Sarker