Wahab Riaz: “Hasan Ali is an experienced bowler and we need a character of his like to stay with the team because it is otherwise an inexperienced side”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz has defended the selection of fast bowler Hasan Ali for the ongoing three-match Test series against Australia, saying they “need a character” like him.
Wahab added that Hasan is also experienced, which is something the bowling line-up is lacking at the moment.
The men in green are without fast bowler Naseem Shah, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, while Haris Rauf pulled out of the tour at the last moment due to concerns about his workload.
“Hasan Ali is an experienced bowler and we need a character of his like to stay with the team because it is otherwise an inexperienced side,” Wahab was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Hasan didn’t feature in the first Test against Australia in Perth, which Pakistan lost by 360 runs.
He is playing in the ongoing second Test, which got underway on December 26 in Melbourne.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Shah Afridi