Asia Cup 2023

Asia Cup 2022: Mohammad Hasnain named as Shaheen Afridi’s replacement

Mohammad Hasnain will replace Shaheen Shah Afridi in Pakistan’s 15-man squad for the T20 Asia Cup 2022, which will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 27 August to 11 September. Hasnain, who is playing for Oval Invincibles in the ongoing edition of The Hundred, will join the team in Dubai.

Shaheen Afridi is ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022 due to a right knee ligament injury. He has been advised four to six weeks of rest and is expected to return to competitive cricket in October. This will keep the left-arm pacer out of consideration for the home T20I series against England as well.

Shaheen’s injury was a body blow to the Baber-led side as the pacer was the leader of the bowling attack. The other bowlers will need to raise their game to fill the void that has been created due to Shaheen’s absence. Hasnain has represented Pakistan in 18 T20Is in which he has taken 17 wickets with an economy of 7.91.

The 22-year-old has the ability to clock the high 150s (KPH) and can also swing the ball prodigiously. The mix of extreme pace and swing makes him a handful. This might be one of the reasons why Pakistan has drafted the right-arm pacer into the side.

Meanwhile, the likes of Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Usman Qadir will leave for Dubai on Tuesday. The quartet will replace Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris, Salman Ali Agha, and Zahid Mehmood, who were part of the 16-member ODI squad against the Netherlands.

Pakistan will start its Asia Cup campaign against arch-rivals India on Sunday, 28th August. The second group fixture for the Men in Green will be against a qualifier (UAE, Kuwait, Singapore, or Hong Kong) in Sharjah on Friday, 2 September. Pakistan last won the Asia Cup in 2012 and the Babar-led side would look to end the ten-year drought as they gear up for the tournament.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc) 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.