Karachi, Mar. 18 : The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Wednesday announced its squad for the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup Tournament to be played in Malaysia.

Zeeshan Ashraf will captain the side and Mohammad Imran will be his deputy. The other players in the squad are Nasir Ahmed, Rana Asif, Shakeel Abbasi, Waqas Sharif, Akhtar Ali, Shabbir Khan, Asim Khan, Tariq Aziz, Shafqat Rasool and Fareed Ahmed, a PHF release said.

The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest.

The tournament became an annual event after 1998, following its growth and popularity.

The tournament is named after the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia, Sultan Azlan Shah, an avid fan of field hockey.

The 25th edition of the cup (2008) was won by Argentina. India was the runners-up, while New Zealand and Pakistan were third and fourth respectively.

Pakistan last won the cup in 2003 and was the runners-up in 2004. Pakistan has won the cup thrice in the last 25 years. (ANI)