Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have brought in young right-arm pace bowler Mohammad Hasnain as replacement for Shaheen Afridi in the 15-member squad for the T20 Asia Cup 2022, which begins in the UAE on August 27.
Afridi was ruled out of the tournament after being advised a 4-6 weeks rest by the medical team following an injury to the right knee ligament. He has also been ruled out of the seven-match home T20I series against England, which is to run from September 20 to October 2.
Afridi is expected to return to competitive cricket in October with the T20I tri-series in New Zealand, also featuring Bangladesh as the third side and will be followed by the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November.
Hasnain was recently cleared to bowl in international cricket following an independent reassessment of his action at the ICC-accredited centre in Lahore. He was reported for a suspect action during a stint with the Sydney Thunder in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 league last season and suspended from bowling after biomechanical testing confirmed his action was illegal.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc) Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.
–IANS