Pakistan’s all-format skipper Babar Azam has backed seamer Hassan Ali to make a strong return to international cricket after the pacer was dropped for the ODI series against the Netherlands and the Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE.
Azam expressed his hope that Ali would participate in the upcoming domestic season and make a successful comeback.
“I know Hassan Ali is not in form, but it’s not like that he has to prove anything,” Babar said in Lahore on Thursday (August 11) as Pakistan prepared to leave for the Netherlands.
“I support Hassan Ali because he’s a team man … domestic cricket is coming up, he’ll play that and hopefully make a strong comeback.”
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The Men in Green will play 3 ODIs against the Dutch on August 16, 18, and 21 respectively at Rotterdam.
Hassan played three ODIs over the last year, taking just two wickets. In the Pakistan Super League (PSL) too, he had a forgettable outing as he took nine wickets at an economy rate of more than 10.
He had an underwhelming outing in the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE, taking only five wickets in 6 games at an average of 41.40.
Pakistan will put its bench strength to the test in the series against the Netherlands, with pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi still not fully recovered from his injury.
Despite suffering a knee injury in the first Test against Sri Lanka last month, Shaheen will travel to the Netherlands with the team.
“We’re taking a couple of doctors on the way to take care of Shaheen, we’re looking long-term at his fitness and health. We want him to play a game against the Netherlands, provided he’s fit, and be ready for the Asia Cup.” Babar said.
“Our fast bowling bench strength is excellent. They’ve now got an opportunity to showcase their skills. This is how you expand your pool.”
Veterans Shoaib Malik and Mohammed Hafeez will also not be featuring for Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup. While Malik was not considered for selection, the latter retired from international cricket.
“When senior players leave the side, those replacing them need to focus. Hafeez and Malik were huge players and we’ll miss them a lot,” said Azam.
“Players like Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, and Iftikhar need to fill their boots. We want to give them plenty of matches and confidence, and these players have performed. We’re also looking to utilize Shadab Khan’s batting, because batting depth is very useful in T20 cricket now.” he added.
(AP INPUTS)
