The young Pakistan batsman, Asif Ali has taken a decision to feature in his country’s squad during the upcoming edition of the World Cup despite the death of his daughter on Sunday. He has been named in Pakistan’s final 15-member squad for ICC World Cup 2019 and the announcement came hours after Asif’s 19-month-old daughter lost the battle against cancer in the USA.
For the moment, Asif will be joining his family in the USA during the tough time but according to PCB, he is certain to return on time before Pakistan’s World Cup opener against West Indies at Trent Bridge on May 31.
Announcing the same, Pakistan’s chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said, “Asif is scheduled to be back in time for our warm-up games where we intend to play our full-strength XI, but if he cannot make it back in time for those, we will wait for him whenever he does return.”
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Pakistan is scheduled to lock horns with Afghanistan on May 24 in the first warm-up match.
Reacting on Asif’s selection, Inzamam said, “Dropping Abid Ali [to make way for Asif’s selection] was a very difficult decision. But we needed a power-hitter at number 6 or 7 and Asif has done very well for us in this England series so we need him.”
During the recently concluded series against England, Asif amassed 142 runs including two half-centuries in four matches against England at an impressive strike rate of 131.48. Earlier, he wasn’t there in the World Cup provisional squad, but in the final squad along with him, veteran left-arm pacers Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz were also drafted into the squad despite not being named in the provisional squad.
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According to the cricket board, Aamir has recovered from his chickenpox and he and Wahab will be available for the warm-up matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh this week. Inzamam said, “The lack of potency of our front-line bowlers in the recent ODI series meant that a change was needed. In addition, we now know that we will encounter batting wickets throughout the World Cup campaign.”
