‘Hasan Ali Was in Our Plans’ – Pakistan Selection Committee Reveals Reason for Dropping Usama Mir

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Original Content: ‘Hasan Ali Was in Our Plans’ – Pakistan Selection Committee Reveals Reason for Dropping Usama Mir

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee has shed light on their decision to exclude Usama Mir from the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England.

During the squad announcement, chief selector Wahab Riaz clarified that Hasan Ali will serve as backup for the fast bowler Haris Rauf. Here’s what Wahab Riaz said:

“Hasan Ali was already in our plans for the T20 World Cup 2024. He was fulfilling his contractual obligations by playing county cricket. We have informed Hasan that he is the backup for Haris Rauf. If Haris recovers his fitness before the England series, he will be our first choice. Otherwise, Hasan Ali will replace him.”

Selector Abdul Razzaq further explained that Usama Mir‘s exclusion is primarily to avoid the similar kind of bowlers in the Pakistan lineup as they already have Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan in the squad.

“We already have Shadab Khan, and we don’t want similar types of bowlers. Therefore, we opted for Abrar Ahmed over Usama Mir. This provides us with Shadab and a mystery spinner in Abrar.”

Following the first T20I against England on May 22nd, the squad will be trimmed down to 15 players for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which kicks off on June 1st. Before departing for Dublin on May 7th, the team will undergo a three-day training camp in Lahore from May 4th to 6th.

Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20Is:

Babar Azam (C), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan