Faced with the daunting task of grooming young hockey players, the Colombo Malay Cricket Club (CMCC) will take the field with a relatively old brigade.
Captained by Old President’s Maharagama player Ayesh Chathuranga and his former school players including his elder brother Ishan Chathuranga, Amila Pramod Wijetunga, Nuwan Peiris and rock solid Sanjeewa Madushanka, they will look forward to the challenge.
Veterans Dilshan Mohothar, Shyam Razak, Azad Jurangpathy, Iqbal Hamidon and P. G. Sunil will lend their experience and ready to take the field, if needed.
Enlisting young schoolboy players has become extremely difficult, as they either give up the sport or are unduly pressurized by their superiors or coaches to play for a particular club.
The end result is the player giving up altogether.
The CMCC Hockey Academy for juniors has produced four school leavers, who have been drafted to the senior team to gain experience.
The 25 member squad comprises Ayesh Chathuranga, Ishan Chathuranga, Amila Pramod, Kasun Harsha, Dilshan Mohothar, Shyam Razak, N. Joshias Amirshan (GK), Tharindu Sachintha (GK), Nuwan Peiris, Rajendran Gajendran, Himesh Thaswin, Nipuna Greshan, Iqbal Hamidon, P. G. Sunil, Azad Jurangpathy, Sanjeewa Madushanka, Desitha Kariyawasam, Ragawan Kogul, Ranil Indika Wijesuriya, M. Abdulla, Ijaz Ifthikar, MHM Rizan, MHM Rizman and MN Saifullah.
