'Hasan Ali has never been outstanding...': Pakistan's 1992 World Cup winning pacer fears the worst ahead of India clash
Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed is not confident of Hasan Ali's skills with the new ball and fears the worst if Shaheen Afridi has an off day.
After two very comprehensive wins against Australia an Afghanistan, India now shifts its attention to the grand daddy of them all – a World Cup clash against their arch rival. Pakistan, who will enter Saturday's contest with a baggage of 31 years. A dreaded three-decade long winless streak that has been a monkey on their back. In seven 50-over World Cup games dating back to 1992, not once have Pakistan beaten India, and although they were able to break the deadlock at the T20I World Cup two years ago, India still hold an unprecedented 7-0 lead when it comes to ODIs.
In a perfect world, this could have been as good an opportunity for Pakistan to script history – to be honest it still is, given how they have fared against Netherlands and Sri Lanka in their first two matches of the World Cup 2023 – but they will be tested and put to the sword against a ruthless Indian side. In a big blow just ahead of the tournament, speedster Naseem Shah was ruled out of the Asia Cup and subsequently the World Cup, and although the selection committee drafted in Hasan Ali, former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed is not too confident of his abilities.
Hasan, who was the Player of the Tournament in the 2017 Champions Trophy which Pakistan won by beating India in the final, had not played an ODI since June last year… until last week when he took the field against Netherlands. Member of the 1992 World Cup winning team, Aaqib slammed the PCB for not grooming more young pacers and feels Pakistan can land in trouble against India if Shaheen Afridi endures an off day.
"If you look at the new ball pairing, they haven't groomed anyone in the last 12 months. The selectors didn't know if not Naseem, who could be the third new ball bowling option. They didn't try anyone during the Asia Cup. Hasan Ali, if you look at his record, has never been outstanding with the new ball. So, on days, if Shaheen (Shah Afridi) gets stuck, there could be problems," Aaqib told PTI.
Shaheen's last two games against India saw the left-arm quick dish out very contrasting performances. In the Asia Cup league game between India and Pakistan, Shaheen picked up 4/35 in a game that finished in a washout. Eight days later though, Shaheen was taken apart by KL Rahul and Virat Kohli as the duo, along with Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma took him for 79 runs. More concerning was Shaheen's form in the Sri Lanka game, where he looked to be struggling and lacked pace. Mohammad Wasim is another option for Pakistan but Aaqib rues PCB's missed opportunity in producing more quality pacers like Shaheen.
"If you remember the opening Asia Cup game and Shaheen's spell, the Indian batters were not playing Shaheen's deliveries but was trying to play Shaheen. That aura... Pakistan's bowling is missing now, that overall impact I would say," said Aaqib, who still holds the record for the best bowling figures – 7/33 – in the history of India-Pakistan ODIs.
