The Pakistan men’s cricket team is currently engaged in a three-match Test series against England. In their first tour to Pakistan in 17 years, England has managed to secure a historic series win by getting the better of the hosts in the first two matches. They won by 74 and 26 runs, respectively, in the first two games that took place in Rawalpindi and Multan. The Men in Green had a chance to win both matches at one point, but they failed to capitalise on the opportunity and fell short.
In the ongoing series, the hosts had to suffer because of injuries to key players, especially the fast bowlers. Pakistan’s biggest strength has always been their fast bowling, but in the ongoing series, they are playing without the services of star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. The left-arm pacer is recovering from an injury that he suffered in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Apart from Shaheen, Haris Rauf also isn’t available. The pacer made his Test debut in the series opener but got injured and didn’t bowl in the second innings.
But despite the duo’s absence, the team management has not considered bringing in out-of-favour fast bowler Hasan Ali. The 28-year-old pacer, who has represented Pakistan in all three formats of the game, has been struggling with form and last played for the senior team during the Asia Cup T20 Super Four match this year on September 9.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, however, believes that Ali can still make a comeback to the team and reveals that he regularly messages him to motivate him to make a return to the national set-up. Speaking on Samaa TV, the star all-rounder of yesteryear said that it is important to support players, particularly when they are not performing well, as they are national heroes.
“Hasan team mein nahi hai. Lekin mujhe ye pata hai ki Hasan Ali ne Pakistan ke liye bohot achha perform kiya. Main nahi chahta ki log bhool jaayein usko. Meri abhi bhi baat hoti hai uss se, main khud se message karta hu usko ki himmat nahi haarni hai, comeback karna hai, domestic cricket ko seriously lena hai. Agar cricket khelna hai toh bas cricket hi khelna hai. (Hasan Ali is not in the team. But I know he has performed well for Pakistan. I don’t want people to forget him. I still talk to him, message him and tell him to not lose hope. I tell him to make a comeback and take domestic cricket seriously.),” Afridi said.
“As a senior player, aap apne juniors ko saath leke chalte ho. Achhe waqt me toh har koi saath rehta hai, bure waqt me agar koi saath khada ho toh achha rehta hai. Ye hamare Pakistan ke heroes hain, ham nahi support karenge toh aur kaun karega (As a senior player, it’s your responsibility to support your juniors. Everyone is with you in your good times, but it’s important to give support during bad times too. These are Pakistan’s heroes, if we don’t support them, who will?).”
