Mohammad Hasnain has been called up to the Pakistan squad for the upcoming Asia Cup to replace the injured Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Hasnain, who burst onto the scene as a teenager known for his ability to bowl at a high pace, has made steady progress, appearing in 18 T20Is for his country and taking 17 wickets. He has also gained international recognition with stints in the Big Bash League, the Caribbean Premier League, English county cricket, and the Hundred, where he was playing for the Oval Invincibles until last week. In T20Is, the 22-year-old has already scored a hat-trick.
Hasnain has also had some difficulties. He was barred from bowling in international cricket in February after it was discovered that his actions were questionable. Hasnain was able to fix it and was given permission to bowl again, but earlier this month, Marcus Stoinis seemed to question the fast bowler’s release.
Pakistan’s Asia Cup campaign kicks off on August 28 against India. They had hoped that Shaheen would be able to recover from his knee injury by then, which he had sustained in July and had been kept under wraps by team management. He stayed with the squad and even went on tours-he was in the ODI squad that beat the Netherlands-but he did not play in any of the three games. Shaheen eventually realised he needed four to six weeks off, and he was ruled out of both the Asia Cup and the seven-match T20I series against England next month. He is also in a race against time to be ready for the T20 World Cup in October.
