Shaun Tait: “You look at the guys like Hasan Ali or Shaheen Shah [Afridi], they had [an] excellent last season”
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Pakistan fast bowling coach Shaun Tait has praised the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali, saying “they had [an] excellent last season”.
Afridi was ruled out of the recently-concluded Asia Cup with a right knee ligament injury.
He will also miss the seven-match T20 series against England, which will be played in Pakistan.
As for Hasan, he hasn’t been at his best as of late and was initially dropped for the Asia Cup.
However, he was recalled to the team as a replacement for seamer Mohammad Wasim Jnr, who suffered a side strain.
Hasan only featured in one game in the tournament and went wicketless.
Despite Afridi’s injury setback and Hasan’s disappointing form, Tait has backed the pair.
“You look at the guys like Hasan Ali or Shaheen Shah [Afridi], they had [an] excellent last season,” the former Australia speedster told ESPNcricinfo.
Pakistan managed to reach the final of the Asia Cup, but were unable to be crowned champions as they lost to Sri Lanka by 23 runs.
They will now be preparing for their seven-match T20 series against England.
The first four games will be held in Karachi from September 20 to 25, while the other three matches will be played in Lahore from September 28 to October 2.
Babar Azam’s side will then head to New Zealand for a T20 tri-series that will also involve Bangladesh. All the games will be held in Christchurch and the series will take place from October 7 to 14.
Pakistan also announced their team for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, which gets underway on October 16.
Pakistan’s Squad for England Series: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Haider Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Aamer Jamal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Haris, Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir, Abrar Ahmed
Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir
Reserves:Â Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani