Ian Pont: “Both great bowlers”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Renowned fast bowling coach Ian Pont has praised Pakistan quicks Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Hasnain, calling them “great bowlers”.
Hasnain recently got back into the Pakistan team and featured in their ODI series against Australia, where he took three wickets in three matches at an average of 34.
He then took part in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, claiming one wicket in one game at an average of 43.
As for the T20I series that followed, the 24-year-old went wicketless in the one match he played.
Pakistan then toured South Africa and Hasnain was involved in one ODI, where he finished with one wicket at an average of 41.
After this, he was included in Pakistan’s squad for the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, but was only picked for one game, in which he failed to take a wicket.
Ali, meanwhile, has been dominating at the domestic level as he was the highest wicket-taker in the Champions T20 Cup with 22 wickets in nine matches for the Stallions at an average of 9.72.
He then represented Fortune Barishal in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and snapped up six wickets in two games, which included a five-wicket haul, at an average of 7.50.
“Both great bowlers,” Pont said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Neither Hasnain nor Ali were picked for the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy, where Pakistan began their campaign with a 60-run loss to New Zealand.
The men in green will now face India on February 23 in Dubai.
Pakistan Squad for 2025 Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah