Asia Cup: Mohammad Hasnain to replace injured Shaheen Shah Afridi in Pakistan squad

Hasnain will join the side from the United Kingdom, where he is representing Oval Invincibles in The Hundred competition.

The 22-year-old pacer has represented Pakistan in 18 T20Is in which he has taken 17 wickets.

Mohammad Hasnain. (PCB)

It has been a tough few months for Hasnain. Back in 2019, still a teenager, it was his ability to bowl 150 kph that fast-tracked him into the Pakistan 50-overs World Cup squad. Things didn’t go as Pakistan would have liked – the boy who they called the next Shoaib Akhtar was soon called for chucking.

Earlier this year, he bounced back after ICC recommended action correction work and was an instant hit on the English county circuit. The taint of having a dodgy action, though, didn’t get wiped out despite ICC lifting the ban on him.

Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, after getting out to the Pakistan pacer in The Hundred game, suggested Hasnain still bent his arm. Stonic would mimic a ‘throw’ on his way to the pavilion.

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, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood, who were part of the 16-member ODI squad against the Netherlands.

The Asia Cup will be played in the United Arab Emirates from August 27 to September 11. Pakistan will start their campaign against their arch-rivals India on August 28. While their second Group A fixture will be against a qualifier (UAE, Kuwait, Singapore or Hong Kong) in Sharjah on September. The Super Four matches will be played from September 3-9.

Pakistan squad: 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