“Mohammad Hasnain’s bowling is third-class” - Danish Kaneria lashes out at Pakistan pacer

Danish Kaneria has hit out at Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain over his insipid performances in recent matches. He went to the extent of terming the 22-year-old’s bowling as “third-class” and one that doesn’t match up to international standards.

Hasnain has struggled to impress since returning to international cricket after getting his bowling action cleared. He picked up only four wickets in as many matches at an average of 39.75 during the home series against England.

The fast bowler conceded 38 runs in four overs in Pakistan’s tri-series match against Bangladesh in Christchurch on Thursday, October 13. While Pakistan went on to win the match by seven wickets, Kaneria was not too impressed with Hasnain’s bowling.

Criticizing the right-arm pacer, he said on his YouTube channel:

“Mohammad Hasnain’s bowling is third-class. Sorry to say, but his bowling is nowhere near international standards. He needs to be sent back to the drawing board so that he can learn and gain experience on how to bowl at this level.

“In Shaheen Afridi (who has been declared fit), Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim Jr, Pakistan have a strong bowling attack (for the T20 World Cup). But, Hasnain has no rhythm or form.”

While Hasnain failed to make an impact in Thursday’s match, Naseem and Wasim Jr. were highly impressive. Both claimed two wickets each without giving away too many runs.

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“Tu chal, main aaya” - Danish Kaneria on Pakistan’s possible batting woes at the T20 World Cup

Shifting focus to Pakistan’s batting, Kaneria lamented that there could be a procession of wickets at venues like Perth during the T20 World Cup if openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan don’t fire.

The former leg-spinner commented:

“Tu chal, main aaya (You go, I’ll come). That will be Pakistan’s situation in Perth if Babar and Rizwan don’t fire. It is such a good wicket in New Zealand, and still out batters are struggling. What kind of cricket do they play?”

Comparing the team’s young batters to their Indian counterparts, Kaneria claimed that Pakistan’s players seem to have forgotten the basics. He said:

“Look at India. Everyone was calling for Sanju Samson to be included in the T20 World Cup squad. He was not picked, but he still played brilliantly against South Africa. Shreyas Iyer is among the standbys. He too scored plenty of runs in all the matches against South Africa.

"Our batters seem to have forgotten how to play. They need to be taught the basics of cricket again as they are spoiling Pakistan’s name.”

Incidentally, Pakistan will take on India in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23.