PCB announces Shaheen's replacement, Star Pacer to join Pakistan for Asia Cup 2022
Pakistan had already suffered a major blow when the ace pacer Shaheen Afridi was ruled out of the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 because of a knee injury. Thus, he will not be part of the team for at least 4-6 weeks and will also miss the upcoming T20I series against England.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the replacement for the left-arm pacer. Mohammad Hasnain will be the bowler who will be replacing Shaheen in the Asia Cup 2022. Hashain is currently playing for Oval Invincibles in the ongoing "Hundred" tournament in England.
He has played a total of 18 T20 internationals and has 17 wickets to his name. He will now directly join the Pakistani team in Dubai from the United Kingdom. Notably, the last few months haven't been good for the pacer as he went through the ICC's recommended action correction work.
Hasnain to replace Shaheen in Asia Cup
— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) August 22, 2022
Read details here ⤵️https://t.co/1BSEfF6KMl
The PCB released a press conference and confirmed the replacement. An official further said, ""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."
Without a doubt, Babar Azam and his team will miss the services of Shaheen, but they also have some exciting young pacers who can bowl at a good speed of over 150 km/h. The Asia Cup will be played between August 27 and September 11.
A total of six teams will feature in the competition. India will enter as the defending champions after winning the tournament in 2016 and 2018. Notably, Pakistan has won the Asia Cup twice so far, in 2000 and 2012.