Newly appointed Pakistan Chief Selector Wahab Riaz has shared an update about the current fitness of Pakistan pacers Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, and Ihsanullah following the announcement of their squad for the Australia Test series, starting on December 14th.
Naseem Shah suffered a shoulder injury during the Super 4 contest against India in the Asia Cup and was eventually ruled out of the World Cup after failing to recover on time for the marquee event. The youngster has been a vital bowler for Pakistan in all three formats and has continued playing cricket for the last 18 months.
Ihsanullah, who has played for Pakistan in four Twenty20 Internationals and one One Day format, had an elbow injury. In March 2023, at the end of the PSL, Ihsanullah won both the HBL PSL 8 Player of the Tournament award as well the Bowler of HBL PSL 8 award, for his 22 wickets at an economy rate of 7.59 and could be a crucial player for the team in the coming years.
Mohammad Hasnain sustained an ankle injury during his participation in the Sri Lanka Premier League in August. After departing from Sri Lanka, he travelled to England and had an MRI. The quick bowler has been receiving treatment for his ankle in England since September 13, and the scans indicate that he needs rehabilitation.
“Naseem Shah will hopefully be able to bowl at 50-60% after 3 weeks. Mohammad Hasnain has started running and sprinting. He has started bowling last week but he’ll need two weeks to build up his workload. Ihsanullah continues to undergo rehab,” Wahab Riaz said.
The Men in Green is always known for their fast bowling prowess in International Cricket. Pakistan continues to produce some of the finest fast-bowling talents as the team is blessed with many pacers in the team but they have failed to do well for the team in the ODI World Cup 2023 and would be keen to improve their game before the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan squad for Australia Tests: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
