Pakistani Squad

Naved-ul-Hasan

BACK

Profile:

Hasan made his debut in Sharjah immediately after the disastrous 2003 World Cup, at which time he was competing with Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik and Azhar Mahmood for the allrounder’s spot. Few backed him then despite some impressive early performances and he was dropped soon after, allegedly because of disciplinary problems. But now, with Razzaq and Malik going through indifferent patches with bat, ball or both, and Mahmood fading away, Hasan has worked his way back into the reckoning, mainly on the back of an impressive domestic season in 2003-04. A marathon, successful spell of bowling in the Patrons Trophy final in January – a tournament in which he was leading wicket-taker – brought a call-up to the squad, and a return to the team for the ODI opener against India in Karachi. In a game full of memorable moments, Hasan’s stood out – his first over went for 24 runs but he replied with three crucial wickets. As with most Pakistan bowlers of pace, he can bowl a reverse-swinging yorker almost at will. His change of pace, as Virender Sehwag will testify, is another useful weapon. As a lower-order, hard-hitting batsman, he has had little opportunity to impress at international level.