Hasnain replaces Shaheen in Pakistan's T20 squad for Asia Cup

Mohammad Hasnain has been called up to replace the injured Shaheen Shah Afridi in Pakistan's squad for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Having burst on the scene as a teenager known for his ability to bowl at high pace, Hasnain has made steady progress, playing 18 T20Is for his country and picking up 17 wickets in them. He has also earned acclaim overseas with stints in the Big Bash League, the Caribbean Premier League, English county cricket and the Hundred, where he is currently playing for the Oval Invincibles. The 22-year old already has a hat-trick in T20Is.

Hasnain has had some struggles as well. 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 it and was fully cleared to bowl again but, earlier this month, Marcus Stoinis appeared to question the fast bowler's release.

Pakistan begin their Asia Cup campaign on August 28 against India. They had been hopeful of Shaheen being able to recover from his knee injury by then - he sustained it in July and had since been kept under wraps by the team management. He still stayed with the squad and even went on tours - he was part of the ODI squad in the victory over Netherlands - but did not play any of the three games. Eventually it became clear that Shaheen needed four-six weeks rest and as a result he was ruled out of both the Asia Cup and the seven-match T20I series against England next month. He faces a race against time to be fit for the T20 World Cup in October as well.