Shaheen Afridi ruled out of T20 Asia Cup

In a major blow for Pakistan’s T20 Asia Cup hopes, pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi has been ruled out due to injury.

Mohammad Hasnain will replace Afridi in the Pakistan squad for the ACC T20 Asia Cup.

The tournament will be played in the United Arab Emirates from 27 August to 11 September.

22-year-old Hasnain has represented Pakistan in 18 T20Is in which he has taken 17 wickets.

He has gained valuable experience with stints in the Big Bash League, the Caribbean Premier League, English county cricket and the Hundred.

Hasnain will join the side from the United Kingdom, where he is representing Oval Invincibles in The Hundred competition.

He has had an eventful career so far, to say the least.

In February, he was suspended from bowling in international cricket after it was found that his action was suspect.

Hasnain has since been able to correct his action and was fully cleared to bowl again

Pakistan will take on India in their opener in Dubai on Sunday, 28 August.

Their second Group A fixture will be against a qualifier (UAE, Kuwait, Singapore or Hong Kong) in Sharjah on Friday, 2 September.

The Super Four matches will be played from 3-9 September.

Pakistan squad for ACC T20 Asia Cup

Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern), Asif Ali (Northern), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Khushdil Shah (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab), Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab).