“That’s the Goal”: Hasan Ali likely to replace injured Shaheen Afridi for Asia Cup 2022

Pakistan’s pacer Hasan Ali is the likely candidate to replace injured Shaheen Afridi for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 in UAE.

Pakistan cricket team suffered a major blow ahead of the Asia Cup 2022 when their ace bowler Shaheen Afridi got ruled out of the tournament. Afridi has been the leader of the pack of Pakistan’s bowling, and he has been really impressive this season in all three formats of the game.

Pakistan will face India in their opening game of the tournament, and the way Shaheen bowled in the last match against India in the ICC T20 World Cup is still fresh in cricket fans’ minds. Afridi will miss 4-6 weeks of cricketing action, but he should be fit ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Hasan Ali likely to replace Shaheen Afridi for Asia Cup

According to the latest reports, Hasan Ali is the most likely candidate to replace the injured Shaheen Afridi in Pakistan’s Asia Cup squad. Ali has been very ordinary this season, and he was dropped from Pakistan’s side. PCB opted to go with Naseem Shah and Shahnawaz Dahani over him.

Ali recently gave an interview to PCB social media where he talked about his international return. He agreed that he has been going through a rough phase, but he said that he has performed well in domestic cricket in the past as well and it is his goal to return back to the national team.

“I am also a bit disappointed that my performances haven’t been upto the mark,” Hasan Ali said.

“Form is something which comes and goes. I performed well in domestic cricket two years ago and came back to the national team, now also that’s the goal.”

Hasan Ali is the only option to replace injured Shaheen Afridi in AsiaCup 2022 but there is a huge question mark on the performance of Hasan Ali. M Hasnain is also one of the option but Pakistan will not take a risk to further bring inexperience to the bowling unit. Huge blow!

— Arfa Feroz Zake (@ArfaSays_) August 20, 2022

Ali emphasized that the fast bowlers are prone to injuries, and it is a setback for them. He called himself a fighter and insists that he never gives up. Ali looks to perform well in domestic cricket to plot a comeback in the side.

“I think when fast bowlers get injured, it hurts them a lot. It makes them fall. Being a fast bowler is not an easy job. All fast bowlers in the world get niggles but they recover. It’s in my nature that I am a fighter and I don’t give up,” Ali added.

The injury to Shaheen Afridi can be a blessing in disguise for Hasan Ali as he can plot his comeback by playing well in the tournament.