Pakistan vs World XI first match today

KARACHI: In a first of its kind experience, players from Pakistan’s hockey team are set to compete against a team of stars from all over the world for a two-match exhibition series, in an attempt to revive the sport in the country.

The first match between Pakistan and World XI will be played in Karachi on Friday with players from Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Germany, and Argentina.

“It is going to be a challenging experience, we have got just one day to talk and discuss the game,” said Roderick Weusthof from the Netherlands, the captain of World XI side.

Weusthof, who has a Champions Trophy gold medal to his credit, added that he’s hoping for a competitive match against Pakistan.

“We know that they are a good side,” he said.

Junaid Manzoor, the captain of Pakistan team, was equally excited to play in front of home crowd.

“Playing at home with the home crowd cheering for us is a great motivation,” he said ahead of the much-awaited hockey match.

“World XI may be stronger than us, but we’ll produce a better result in the ground tomorrow,” he said.

The match, PHF believe, is not about which team wins or which team loses, it is more than just a hockey match.

“We want to tell the world that Pakistan is peaceful country. These two matches by World XI in Pakistan, will help us convince the world that Pakistan can host Hockey events and we would be able to bring players for our proposed Hockey league,” said Shahbaz Ahmed, the secretary of Pakistan Hockey Federation.

Teams:

World XI: Rob Reckers, Roderick Weusthof, Matthijs Brouwer, Hiddi Turkstra, Philip Meulenbroek, Phillip Burrows, Kyle Pontifex, Santi Freixi, Roc Oliva, David Alegre, Grant Schubert, Benni Wess, Justus Scharowsky, Augustin Bugallo, Nahuel Salis and Diego Paz.

Pakistan: Waqar Younis, Adil Rao, Rizwan Ali, Rehan Butt, Moin Shakil, Adeel Latif, Junaid Manzoor, Shahzeb Khan, Ghazanfar Ali, Afraz Hakeem, Umair Sattar, Naved Alam, Adil Rao, Amjad Ali, Owais Arshad, Rana Waheed, Ahmed Nadeem, M Illiyas, Waqar Ali, Zakiullah and Ibrahim.