Asia Cup 2022: Mohammad Hasnain replaces injured Shaheen Afridi in Pakistan squad – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Pakistan on Monday named Mohammad Hasnain as the replacement for Shaheen Shah Afridi in their squad for the Asia Cup that begins later this month.

Right-arm pacer Hasnain is currently representing Oval Invincibles at The Hundred after making his debut for Worcestershire against Derbyshire in the County Championship.

Hasnain, who has made eight ODI and 18 T20I appearances for Pakistan so far, had recently been suspended for suspect action due to which he missed a large chunk of cricketing action this year. The 22-year-old was finally cleared to bowl by the ICC on 29 June. He is yet to make an international appearance this year, and will hope to end the wait in the upcoming tournament.

Afridi had earlier been ruled out for a period of four to six weeks  due to a knee ligament injury. The left-arm pacer will also miss out on the home T20I series against England following the Asia Cup and is not expected to return to action until the T20I triangular series against New Zealand and Bangladesh in October.

Also Read: Afridi missing Asia Cup 2022 a big relief for Indian top order, says Waqar

The news came as a blow for the Men in Green, who were looking up to Afridi to lead the pace unit in the continental event. Afridi was in cracking form during the T20 World Cup last year, in which he starred in Pakistan’s historic victory over India with a three-for that included the key wickets of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.

Pakistan open their campaign against arch-rivals India on Sunday, 28 August at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and are largely expected to face the Men in Blue again in the Super 4 stage. The Pakistanis have won the tournament twice — in 2000 and in 2012, both editions hosted by Bangladesh.

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