Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali has opened up on the mental challenges he faced after his team’s loss to Australia in the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final in November. The 27-year-old had a tough day in he office due to his indifferent performance both as bowler and fielder. The pacer went for 44 runs in […]
Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali has opened up on the mental challenges he faced after his team’s loss to Australia in the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final in November. The 27-year-old had a tough day in he office due to his indifferent performance both as bowler and fielder.
The pacer went for 44 runs in four overs and was hit for four fours and one six in his spell. To add insult to injury, he dropped a catch at deep mid-wicket, giving Matthew Wade a lifeline and denying Shaheen Shah Afridi an all-important wicket.
The missed chance turned out to be costly as Wade smashed Afridi for three sixes on the trot to take the Aussies home with an over to spare. The Punjab-born speedster said that he found it tough to sleep after the game and the entire development rattled him.
“It was the toughest moment of my career so far and it is very difficult to forget these things quickly. Of course, as a professional you have to move on. Honestly, I haven’t revealed this to anyone until now but I didn’t sleep for two days. My wife was with me and she was tense as I was not sleeping,” Hasan Ali was quoted as saying to Cricket Pakistan.
“I was quiet and sitting at the side as the dropped catch was appearing in my mind continuously but while traveling to Bangladesh, I told myself that I should move on. In Bangladesh, I took 500 catches in three days and also worked on the no ball issue. I want to keep improving and contributing in team wins,” he added.
Pakistan, captained by Babar Azam, looked in ominous form in the tournament, having won all five of their matches in the Super 12. In the game against Aaron Finch and Co, Mohammad Rizwan’s 67, Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten 32-ball 55 and Shadab Khan’s four-wicket haul kept them in the hunt for a long time, but they failed to hold their nerves.
Hasan Ali was greeted with a lot of backlash after Pakistan’s five-wicket loss in Dubai. Interestingly, the seamer made a brilliant comeback as he got the Player of the Match award in the very next T20I he played. His three-wicket haul helped Pakistan beat Bangladesh by four wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
