Picture Credit: Twitter
On September 22, Friday, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a 15-member Pakistan squad for ODI World Cup 2023, but, in a surprising turn of events, Hasan Ali replaced injured Naseem Shah in it. The decision from the team management and the selectors didn’t sit well with the former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif, who said that Hasan Ali made the team because he is part of a lobby of the captain Babar Azam.
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Earlier this September, Naseem Shah had suffered a shoulder injury against India at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, while playing for Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Fours match. He had to sit out the subsequent clash against Sri Lanka in the tournament, before the team bowed out of the competition without playing the final.
Following the announcement of the ODI World Cup 2023 team, Mohammad Asif tore into the Pakistan team management and selectors for picking Hasan Ali in the squad in place of Naseem Shah. A journalist from Pakistan, Farid Khan, shared the thought process of the former cricketer, in a tweet, which read, “Hasan Ali is part of the lobby, he eats with Babar Azam and other players."
“He (Hasan Ali) is in the team because he is part of the lobby, this used to be the case when we used to play too. A lobby doesn't select players from outside,” he added.
Moreover, Pakistan are set to travel to India to take part in the ODI World Cup 2023, where they will play their first warm-up match against New Zealand on September 29. Then, in a week or so, at the same venue, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, the Men in Green will open their campaign in the quadrennial spectacle against the Dutch.
