Babar Azam Said, “It Is Not That He Is Part Of The 15-Member Squad”

The 2009 T20 World Cup winners are ready to lift their second trophy in the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will begin less than 1 month after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. Throwing light on this the Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam opined about the return of Hasan’s Ali, who is been picked up in the squad for the series against Ireland and England won't likely be part of their T20 World Cup squad. Before playing the Marquee event, the Pakistan cricket team will be playing the T20I series against England and Ireland, for which they have announced an 18-member squad in which they have also named the experienced Hasan Ali in the squad. However, during the post-conference, the Pakistan cricket team captain, Babar Azam, said that Hasan Ali had been picked as the backup player in place of Haris Rauf.

“I am hearing for quite some time that why is he [Hassan Ali] back? Selectors have also made it clear that he is there as back up. It is not that he is part of the 15-member squad [for World Cup]. We need to understand that he is a backup because of his experience," Babar was quoted as saying by InsideSport. 

It would not be wrong to say that the Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup will be most similar to the squad picked for the England and Ireland series.

In 50 T20Is, Hasan has picked 60 wickets. However, with Mohammad Amir returning and Abbas Afridi emerging as Pakistan's death-overs specialist, it's highly unlikely that Hasan will be a part of the Men in Green's final fifteen for the World Cup. 

Pakistan has recently finished a 5-match T20I series against New Zealand by 2-2 where 1 match was no result while playing at their home ground. Abbas Afridi and Mohammed Amir were top performers of the series, as they picked key wickets for the Pakistan cricket team.

Pakistan will play their first T20I match against Ireland on May 10 at Clontarf Cricket Club in Ireland.