Hasan Ali will make his comeback for Central Punjab in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Lahore on Monday

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

After two months on the sidelines with a back injury, Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali will be making his long-awaited comeback on Monday.

However, it won’t be at the international level, but rather in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which is Pakistan’s first-class competition.

Hasan didn’t feature in the limited overs series against Sri Lanka, which was held in Pakistan, and was not picked for the ongoing tour of Australia due to his injury.

He did represent Central Punjab in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy clash against Southern Punjab in September, but took figures of 3-100 off 22 overs in the first innings before conceding 17 runs off three overs in the second.

With Hasan having recovered, he will now take the next step to proving his fitness by representing Central Punjab in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Lahore on Monday. 

“Hasan Ali is coming to join us ahead of the next match. Faheem Ashraf will also join us before the final,” Ejaz Ahmed junior told Geo News.

Dr. Sohail Saleem, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) director of sports and medical sciences, confirmed that Hasan will be making his comeback.

“Hasan Ali has shown improvement over the past few weeks during his rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy,” Sohail said. “He has been practicing in [the] nets of late and bowled seven overs in a club match without any discomfort today. I am confident that he will play the ninth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.”