Pakan World Cup squad: Less-faster, less-sharper Hasan Ali to replace 150-kmph Naseem Shah | Cricket News

After suffering a setback at the Asia Cup, where they entered as the No 1 ranked ODI side and failed to make the final, Pakan have made changes to their World Cup squad. Apart from including seamer Hasan Ali as a replacement for Naseem Shah, who picked up a shoulder injury during their match against India, Pakan have dropped Faheem Ashraf in favour of leg-spinner Usma Mir. Although there was a lot of speculation that Shadab Khan may lose his spot, he has managed to retain it and so are the two openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq.
Ali, who is known to seam the ball both ways, has been an integral part of the squad in the past, but he hasn’t been in the ODI scheme of things for well over a year. The 29-year-old’s inclusion is a bit of a surprise as he hasn’t played international cricket since the first week of January. However Ali has been playing domestic and T20 leagues across the globe, and Pakan’s chairman of selectors Inzamam-ul-Haq revealed that Ali’s experience will come handy at the World Cup.
“Naseem was injured, he was our main bowler and it was unfortunate. (Muhammad) Hasnain has an ankle injury and is out injured and so is Ihsanullah. If you say Hasan Ali performing in the LPL, or other performances, he has performed better than most. He is an experienced bowler who has played big mega events for Pakan and performed well in them. And when Naseem was ruled out, we needed someone who could bowl with the new ball. He bowls well with both old and new ball, and is a team man. His presence lends energy to the team,” Inzamam said while announcing the squad.
While Ali is also known to move the ball both ways, he isn’t as quick as Naseem, who regularly touched 150 kmph and above. And unlike Naseem who gets the ball to move through the air and off the pitch, if conditions are not helpful, Ali has shown a tendency to struggle. One of the main reasons why he was dropped from the limited-overs setup was because of struggles with the old ball, especially when it comes to bowling at the death where he has been punished heavily.
Who is Usama Mir?
With Naseem unavailable and four seamers available in Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Ali, Pakan have decided to drop Ashraf and include Mir, a leg-spinner who impressed straightway in his maiden ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year. Although there is experienced Shadab in the squad, he isn’t known to be a big turner of the ball and has been struggling for consency off late. While Mir is late to the international circuit, in the eight ODIs he has played, he is known to give a lot more flight and has a leg-break that can turn sharply.
Having started off playing terrace cricket, growing up, Mir idolised Shane Warne. Like all Pakan bowlers, he too started off playing tape ball cricket – not the easiest for spinners to bowl with as it offers very little turn – but once he started bowling with the red ball, Mir figured turn was his biggest strength. “My brother actually taught me wr spin but wasn’t himself sure how I was spinning the ball that much. I started to enjoy leg-spin and went on with it. In the streets, I never allowed anyone to score more than two runs in an over. My ball spun sharply to deceive any batsman and I was unplayable,” Mir told ESPNCricinfo.
After an impressive performance with the domestic sides, Mir gradually rose through the ranks in the Pakan Super League as well and this year got his maiden national call-up.Most Read
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Apart from Mir, there are no other surprise picks in Pakan’s 15-member squad. Though the form of the opener Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq has been a concern, Pakan have retained both in the squad along with Abudullah Shafique.
Pakan are set to arrive in India on September 27 and are in line to play two warm-up fixtures against New Zealand and Australia in Hyderabad before their first match against The Netherlands on October 6.
Pakan squad: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali.