Earlier this week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the men's teams for the Netherlands tour and the Asia Cup 2022, which saw some prominent omissions, including veteran batter Shoaib Malik and senior bowler Hassan Ali. 

Hassan was granted a break from international cricket, according to Pakistan's chief selector Muhammad Wasim, and will be replaced by young speedster Naseem Shah, who is yet to make his white-ball debut.

“Hassan has been given a break from international cricket and he has been replaced by Naseem Shah. He is express fast and can give further impetus to the fast bowling department, which already boasts Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Shahnawaz Dahani,”  said Wasim.

After making endless appearances for the national team, Hassan needed a break, according to former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez, who also argued that the decision to rest the bowler should have been made much earlier.

“Hassan is a wonderful cricketer. I know him from his early years, he is a fighter. At certain stages in your career, when you are not going through good form, you get mentally tired, even though you want to perform. I think the management was unfair to him in the sense that he was played in matches where he could've been rested,” Hafeez told Dawn.

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Hafeez believes that the 28-year-old wasn't ready for the pressure he was put under by the selection committee.

“The selection committee and team management decided to play him in every game, and mentally, he was not ready for that pressure. He didn't get the gap he wanted. I think he was unnecessarily being played. So, it was a mistake from the management and even from Hassan to an extent. Because when you are young, you don't understand how important the mental aspect of the game is.” he said.

According to him, Hassan Ali should take the exclusion positively and look to make a strong comeback.

“I think Hassan should take this positively (his absence from Netherlands tour and Asia Cup). Spend some time with his family. I'm sure the 3-4 week break will give him much-needed rest and he will come back positively. He will feel more hungry. I feel this decision should have been taken quite early,” he said.

(DAWN INPUTS)