Pacer Hasnain replaces Shaheen in Asia Cup squad

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) selectors have put their faith in speedster Mohammad Hasnain, who will replace Shaheen Shah Afridi in the Pakistan squad for the ACC T20 Asia Cup starting in United Arab Emirates (UAE) from August 27.

Hasnain returned to the international scene just recently after he was banned from bowling in February 2022 after biomechanical testing in Lahore confirmed his action was illegal, having first been reported during a stint with the Sydney Thunder in January 2022.

22-year-old Hasnain has represented Pakistan in 18 T20Is in which he has taken 17 wickets. The speedster has the ability to regularly top 140kmph speed which helped him get preference over Hasan Ali and Mir Hamza. With Pakistan likely to play against India more than once during the Asia Cup, he could even get a chance to represent the country against arch-rivals.

Hasnain will join the side from the United Kingdom, where he is representing Oval Invincibles in ‘The Hundred’ competition. In four matches he has played for the Invincibles in The Hundred, Hasnain picked up five wickets.

“Since Hasnain is coming out of competitive cricket, he seems to be the best choice to replace Shaheen. Hopefully if given the opportunity he would live up to the expectations,” one of the selectors said.

Hasnain made his international debut against Australia in Sharjah in March 2019 and in October that year became the youngest player ever to take a T20 International hat-trick in a match against Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed and Usman Qadir will leave for Dubai in the wee hours of Tuesday. They will replace Abdullah Shafique, Imamul Haq, Mohammad Haris, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood, who were part of the 16-member ODI squad against the Netherlands.

Pakistan will take on India in their opener in Dubai on August 28, while their second Group A fixture will be against a qualifier (UAE, Kuwait, Singapore or Hong Kong) in Sharjah on September 2. The Super Four matches will be played from September 3-9.

Pakistan squad for ACC T20 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.