Side strain rules Mohammad Wasim out, Hasan Ali included in Pakistan's Asia Cup squad

Mohammad Wasim will miss the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 after picking a side strain. He is being released from the squad, that's currently in the UAE, and will be out for at least three weeks. Hasan Ali, who was one of the notable omissions when the squad was announced, has been brought in as Wasim's replacement.

Wasim had complained of back pain while bowling in a net session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Thursday, and was taken for an MRI scan shortly afterwards. In the PCB's update on Friday, it has emerged that he had suffered a side strain. He has also been reviewed by a specialist. The team's main physiotherapist, Cliffe Deacon, is working with Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been ruled out of the Asia Cup because of a knee injury but is travelling with the team.

Hasan was dropped from Pakistan's squad for the ODI series in the Netherlands as well as for the Asia Cup following a poor run of form with the ball. Hasan's form across formats in the last year has been middling at best. He has picked up eight wickets in eight T20Is in this period. In the three ODIs he has played in the last 12 months - all at home between March and June this year - he averaged 76.50 with the ball, picking up two wickets. Earlier this year, in the PSL, he had a bowling average of 40.55 and had an economy rate of 10.84 as he got nine wickets in nine games for Islamabad United.

PCB confirmed that the team management had asked for Hasan as a replacement and chief selector Mohammad Wasim accepted the request. When the 16-man squad had been announced earlier this month, Naseem Shah had been called up to replace Hasan. Now, with Afridi and Wasim out, Pakistan's pace-bowling unit has Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shah and Hasan. Their campaign at the Asia Cup starts on August 28 against India.

In a bid to regain his form, Hasan had been preparing for the National T20, starting on August 30. He was named Southern Punjab captain, having moved away from his regular team, Central Punjab. He had been at the PCB's high-performance centre in Lahore training after being dropped.