Pakistan’s leading pace bowler Hasan Ali has been rested for the first T20 International against England on Friday. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that Hasan Ali has been rested as a precautionary measure due to a strain in his left leg, which he picked during a training session at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
ALSO READ - Pakistan Removed Mickey Arthur as Coach Because of Politics, Alleges Rashid Latif
“The fast bowler will now be assessed ahead of the second T20I, following which a decision on his participation will be made," it said.
Pakistan also lost their middle order batsman, Haris Sohail, to a leg injury before the start of the three-match One-Day International Series in which they were whitewashed by a new look England side.
England thumped Pakistan against the odds despite having to change their entire original squad after seven members of the squad tested positive for Covid-19 and the entire squad was sent into isolation. Hasan has been Pakistan’s leading bowler in all formats since his return to the national side early this year after a spate of injuries kept him out of the team since the World Cup 2019.
Meanwhile, Former Test captain and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif believes Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made a big mistake by removing Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mickey Arthur as skipper and coach of the national team after the 2019 World Cup.
“Why was Mickey Arthur removed…what was the reason for his sacking? The team had done well under him and it was progressing well. Check the records and you can see but he was removed because of politics," Latif said on the YouTube Cricket Baaz channel.
ALSO READ - India vs Sri Lanka: Team India’s Possible Playing XI for First ODI in Colombo
He said Sarfaraz also didn’t deserve to be booted out.
PCB had sacked Arthur one month after Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup because of their net run rate, while Sarfaraz was removed as captain of all three formats after the national team suffered a whitewash against a weak Sri Lankan side in a T20 series at home in October-November 2019.
Get all the IPL news and Cricket Score here