New Delhi: Following the Pakistan Hockey Federation's (PHF) confirmation of India's consent to tour for a three-nation tournament, Hockey India (HI) is expected to announce the squad on Monday, sources told IBNLive.com.
PHF secretary Asif Bajwa, in a statement on Wednesday, said that both India and Malaysia have confirmed their participation, and IBNLive has learned that a developmental squad could be announced as early as Monday.
"It will not be the first [choice] team. A developmental squad will be announced by Monday, and the selection for that will be held on March 16-17," the source said.
A preparatory camp is in progress at the SAI Centre in Bangalore since March 5, which does not include the 18-member squad that took India back into the Olympics by winning the qualifiers last month. Those players are on a recovery leave of three weeks.
The PHF secretary said that they planned to organise a four-nation tournament but South Africa and Argentina have not given any positive response. "We had also invited South Africa and Argentina for the event but have got no positive response from them. But the biggest news for us is that India have confirmed they will come for the event," Bajwa said in a statement.
Dates for the tournament, which is expected to be played in the second week of April, have not yet been announced by the PHF.
India are also to tour Malaysia for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Spain for a four-nation tournament and London for an Olympics test event before the Games begin in August.
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