Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali: “At times it feels like I only took wickets in the Champions Trophy and nowhere else and people forget that I have 135 wickets for Pakistan in other matches and series than the Champions Trophy in 2017”
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Pakistan pace bowler Hasan Ali has said people need to stop defining him by his performance in the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Hasan played an instrumental role in leading Pakistan to victory in the competition as he was the highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets in five matches at an average of 14.69.
In fact, the 26-year-old was even named Player of the Tournament.
However, he noted that he has taken a lot more international wickets, but “at times it feels like I only took wickets in the Champions Trophy and nowhere else”.
“People tend to forget that I have 148 international wickets and only 13 of those were in the Champions Trophy,” he told PakPassion. “At times it feels like I only took wickets in the Champions Trophy and nowhere else and people forget that I have 135 wickets for Pakistan in other matches and series than the Champions Trophy in 2017.
“My critics make it sound like all of my wickets were in the Champions Trophy, well I would like to remind them that I have performed well not just in the Champions Trophy. As a cricketer you have ups and downs, good and bad days and even the likes of Sachin Tendulkar in the past have had low periods of form.
“This happens as you cannot take wickets every day or in every match, but people tend to forget that and expect you to perform amazingly in every single match.”
Hasan made his comeback from recurring back injuries in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he captained Central Punjab.
He finished as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the competition with 43 wickets in nine matches at an average of 20.06.
With the number of wickets he claimed, Hasan had the most wickets among pace bowlers in this year’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
He also got the job done with the bat in the final against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as he smashed an unbeaten 106, which came off 61 balls and included 10 boundaries and seven sixes.
His efforts nearly helped Central Punjab defend their title, but instead, the match ended as a tie and the trophy was shared between the two teams.
The 26-year-old was rewarded for his strong performance in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy as he was picked for Pakistan’s upcoming series against South Africa.
Hasan is now set to play his first international match since the 2019 World Cup.
Pakistan’s series against South Africa, which will consist of two Tests and three T20 Internationals, will start on January 26 and conclude on February 14.
Pakistan’s squad for the South Africa series: Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (captain), Fawad Alam, Kamran Ghulam, Agha Salman, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Yasir Shah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tabish Khan