SM
Brighton vs. Man City: 2 hrs
Upcoming predictions and previews

Asif Ali to play on with Pakistan despite tragic death of young daughter

:Headline: Asif Ali to play on with Pakistan despite tragic death of young daughter: ID:359796: from db_amp
The 27-year-old's young daughter died from cancer on Sunday.

Asif Ali intends to take his place in Pakistan's squad for the World Cup despite the death of his daughter on Sunday.

The batsman and left-arm pacemen Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz were omitted from the original list a month ago, but the trio have replaced Abid Ali, Junaid Khan and Faheem Ashraf in Pakistan's final 15-man group.

However, Asif will first fly out to the United States for the funeral of his 19-month-old daughter, who died following a lengthy battle with cancer over the weekend.

Press Association Sport understands Asif will link up with his team-mates at his earliest convenience.

Pakistan Prime Minister and former all-rounder Imran Khan was among those to offer his condolences to Asif, writing on Twitter: "My condolences and prayers go to Asif Ali & his family on the passing of his daughter from cancer.

"May Allah give them strength to bear such a precious loss."

Asif contributed two half-centuries in the one-day international series against England which concluded on Sunday, the 27-year-old one of few who impressed in Pakistan's middle order during their side's 4-0 loss.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, chair of Pakistan men's selection committee, said: "It has not been an easy decision to leave out Abid, particularly after he got only one opportunity on the tour. But, he was our third-choice opener.

"After both the first-choice openers struck early form, we preferred Asif Ali as he brings firepower to the team that can strengthen our chances in the tournament."

Amir, who missed the last World Cup while serving a ban for spot-fixing, was left out of the initial squad after suffering a major dip in ODI form which has seen him take just three wickets in his last 12 innings.

Mohammad Amir has secured a place in Pakistan's World Cup squad (Mike Egerton/PA)

It seemed he would need to show some form against England to force his way into the squad, but he did not bowl a ball in the series after the only game in which he was selected was washed out at the Oval.

Amir has been included regardless, as has Wahab, despite not playing an ODI since June 2017.

The 33-year-old has been brought back in from the cold after his international career had seemingly been ended.

Wahab Riaz has not played on ODI for almost two years (John Walton/PA)

Inzamam-ul-Haq said: "After it became obvious that the bat is likely to dominate the ball in the World Cup, we revisited our strategy and reverted to the pace of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz.

"The bowling unit during the England ODIs has not clicked as anticipated or expected; if we have at our disposal the vastly experienced pace duo of Amir and Wahab, then it will be foolish not to include them."

amp_article__359796 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-05-20 13:27:22:
html db last update - 2021-03-01 11:42:15 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Asif Ali

Click here for more stories about Pakistan

Share this article now:
Read more about Asif Ali Cricket
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .