"He brings energy into the squad by his presence" - Inzamam-ul-Haq backs Hasan Ali to perform in 2023 World Cup

Former Pakistan captain and current chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq has backed Hasan Ali to come good in the 2023 World Cup as a replacement for the injured Naseem Shah.

Naseem sustained an injury to his right shoulder during the Asia Cup Super Fours game against India and didn't play any further part in the tournament. While the medical team tried their best, the star pacer won't be able to get fit in time for the World Cup.

There has been a lot of talk about how little international cricket Hasan Ali has played in the past few months. However, speaking to reporters after Pakistan's World Cup squad announcement, here's what Inzamam-ul-Haq had to say about the rationale for picking the pacer:

"Hasan Ali has done well in the Lanka Premier League and has been impressive elsewhere too. He is an experienced player and while he hasn't been playing international cricket for a while, he has given performances in big events for Pakistan. Once Naseem was ruled out, we wanted someone who would bowl with the new as well as the old ball and that's why we went for Hasan. He brings energy into the squad by his presence and is a team man."

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Hasan Ali was my choice for Asia Cup: Inzamam-ul-Haq

Zaman Khan was named as Naseem Shah's replacement for the remainder of the Asia Cup. However, Inzamam-ul-Haq claimed that had Hasan been fit at the time, he would have been flown to Sri Lanka ahead of Zaman.

On this, he stated:

"Hasan Ali had a finger injury and wasn't cleared for the Asia Cup by the doctors. Had he been cleared, he would have been my first choice over Zaman Khan (as Naseem's replacement). In such big events, you need a bit of experience, especially when the tournament is in India where the games could be high-scoring."

Hasan will need to step up for Pakistan as they could dearly miss the services of Naseem in the World Cup.