PETALING JAYA: The four elder statesmen of the hockey team – Hafizuddin Othman, Marhan Jalil, Fitri Saari and Faizal Saari – will form the nucleus of the Speedy Tigers team for their first international duty at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh from May 4-11 under national head coach Sarjit Singh.

Sarjit stated that although the final 18 players for the Azlan Shah Cup will only be announced after Malaysia’s first friendly match against New Zealand on May 1, it seems inevitable that the team will need the four key figures in Ipoh.