Shaheen Shah Afridi: “Hasan Nawaz’s exclusion does not mean that he has completely vanished from the team. He is the future of Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has made it clear that big-hitting batsman Hasan Nawaz won’t vanish completely after he was dropped from the ODI and T20I squads.
Nawaz was axed for the ODI series against Sri Lanka and the T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in order to return to domestic cricket. He also didn’t get picked for the recent tour of Sri Lanka, where Pakistan played three T20Is in Dambulla.
Despite losing his place in the side, Afridi reaffirmed that he still views the 23-year-old as “the future of Pakistan”.
“The number at which Hasan is playing currently, he faces competition from a lot of batters, so when he plays domestic cricket, he will improve. And Hasan Nawaz’s exclusion does not mean that he has completely vanished from the team. He is the future of Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Nawaz is currently in action in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), where he has amassed 117 runs in four matches for the Chattogram Royals at an average of 39 and a strike-rate of 108.33.
The Islamabad native has also had an impact with the ball, taking two wickets at an average of 10.50 and an economy rate of seven.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-match T20I series against Australia in Lahore, which will take place from January 29 to February 1.
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