Pakistan’s selectors shed light on the reason behind dropping spinner Usama Mir and selecting pacer Hasan Ali for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England on Thursday.
After announcing the squad for the series, Wahab Riaz said that Hasan Ali will be the backup for Haris Rauf in the coming matches.
"Hasan Ali was already in our plans for T20 World Cup 2024. He was playing county cricket as he was under contract. He is a backup of Haris Rauf and we have told that to Hasan Ali. If Haris gets fit before England series than he will be our first choice. If we feel Haris Rauf is not match fit then Hasan Ali will replace him,” Wahab said.
Meanwhile, Abdul Razzaq said that Usama was excluded because they didn’t want similar type of bowlers in the squad.
“We already have Shadab and we don’t want to have similar type of bowlers. That is why we have selected Abrar Ahmed over Usama Mir. So now we have Shadab and a mystery spinner in Abrar,” Razzaq said.
The squad will be reduced to 15 players for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will begin on June 1, after the first T20I against England on May 22.
The team will leave for Dublin on May 7 following a three-day training camp in Lahore from May 4-6.
Pakistan squad for Ireland and England T20Is
Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan
Pakistan's schedule of upcoming matches
Tour of Ireland
May 10: First T20I at Clontarf
May 12: Second T20I at Clontarf
May 14: Third T20I at Clontarf
Tour of England
May 22: First T20I at Leeds
May 25: Second T20I at Birmingham
May 28: Third T20I at Cardiff
May 30: Fourth T20I at The Oval
- Hasan Ali
