Here is the reason why Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Ali will not play for Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2022

The left-handed top-order batsman Fakhar Zaman has been an integral part of Pakistan’s T20I squad in the last couple of years. Fakhar’s ability to play with aggression against both fast bowlers and spinners has helped Pakistan win many T20I games in recent times, but the left-hander didn’t feature in the T20 World Cup squad that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released yesterday.

Rather than Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan went with Shan Masood for the T20 World Cup. Shan, like Fakhar, is also a left-handed top-order batsman, but he is a bit more solid and orthodox with his batting approach and is not really known for his aggression and six-hitting.

Pakistan’s chief selector Muhammad Wasim said yesterday that the reason why Fakhar Zaman is not a part of the Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup and the England T20I series is that he sustained a knee injury while playing in the Asia Cup in UAE and he will go to London for further treatment.

Fakhar Zaman might have missed out on T20 World Cup even if he was fit

But, it is being speculated that Fakhar might not have been picked for the T20 World Cup even if he was fit, as Pakistan wanted another solid option at the top of the order, apart from their openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.

The Pakistan team management is of the view that the reason why Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan aren’t able to play freely at the top of the order is that there is no other solid batsman in the Pakistan line-up. With the presence of Shan Masood at no. 3, Babar and Rizwan would go a bit harder at the top.

Pakistan squad for the T20 WC:

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Babar (C), Shadab, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil, Hasnain, Nawaz, Rizwan, Waseem Jnr, Naseem, Shaheen, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 15, 2022

Apart from not picking Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan didn’t pick their senior fast bowler Hasan Ali for the T20 World Cup either. Hasan Ali had played just one match for Pakistan in the recently concluded Asia Cup in UAE and had proven expensive in that match.