Mohammad Hasnain has replaced the injured Shaheen Afridi in Pakistan's Asia Cup squad. Hasnain, 22, has represented Pakistan in eight ODIs and 18 T20Is after making his debut in 2019, and has taken 29 international wickets. He has not played a T20I since December 2021, where he featured in Pakistan’s home T20I series against West Indies.
The right-armer is currently in the UK playing for Oval Invincibles in The Hundred. "Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed and Usman Qadir will leave for Dubai in the wee hours of Tuesday," the PCB stated in a release. "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."
Meanwhile, Afridi will miss the seven-match T20I series at home against England in September because of a knee injury. Afridi sustained the right knee ligament injury during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last month.
The PCB expects Afridi to be fit for the October T20I tri-series in New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup.
"I have spoken with Afridi and he is understandably upset with the news, but he is a brave young man who has vowed to come back strongly to serve his country and team," Dr Najeebullah Soomro, PCB chief medical officer, said in a statement. "Although he has made progress during his rehabilitation in Rotterdam, it is now clear he will require more time and is likely to return to competitive cricket in October."
Pakistan begins its Asia Cup campaign against India on August 28 in Dubai. Shaheen had played a crucial role in Pakistan’s victory against India in the 2021 T20 World Cup, winning the Player of the Match award for his spell of 3 for 31 in four overs.
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