Pakistan captain Babar Azam believes Hasan Ali will be able to return to international cricket despite being dropped from the one-day international series against the Netherlands and the T20 Asia Cup.

Pakistan takes on its Dutch hosts in the first of three one-day internationals on Tuesday in Rotterdam.

Hasan’s poor form in white-ball cricket eventually persuaded selectors to remove the fast bowler in favour of uncapped pacer Naseem Shah.

Hasan has played three One-Day Internationals in the last year, collecting two wickets at an average of 76.50. He had a below-par Pakistan Super League season, taking nine wickets in nine games and proving costly with an economy rate of 10.84.

Youngsters Have To Step Up: Babar Azam

“I know Hasan Ali is not in form, but it’s not like that he has to prove anything, I support Hasan Ali because he’s a team man … domestic cricket is coming up, he’ll play that and hopefully make a strong comeback. Our fast bowling bench strength is excellent. They’ve now got an opportunity to showcase their skills. This is how you expand your pool”, Babar said in the pre-tour press conference.

When asked about the senior players who had done well for Pakistan in the past, Azam said “When senior players leave the side, those replacing them need to focus, Hafeez and Malik were huge players and we’ll miss them a lot. Players like Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar need to fill their boots. We want to give them plenty of matches and confidence, and these players have performed. We’re also looking to utilize Shadab Khan’s batting because batting depth is very useful in T20 cricket now.

Pakistan’s bench strength will be put to the test in the series against the Netherlands.

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