Asif Ali to return Pakistan following his daughter's demise

Only hours after the fifth ODI between England and Pakistan, Asif Ali’s daughter who was battling with cancer passed away. The cricketer had urged the fans and followers to pray for her before leaving for England and she was in the United States of America (USA) for treatment. The cancer was diagnosed during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year and Asif had also broken down after one of the matches.

Following his daughter’s demise, Asif Ali will now return to Pakistan according to Pak Passion and the team management has also decided to give him ample time to recover. Amidst these tough times, he batted superbly in the five-match ODI series playing the finisher’s role for his team. Asif scored 142 runs in the four innings at an impeccable strike-rate of 131.48 and an impressive average of 35.50.

Rewarded with a place in the World Cup squad

Pakistan finalised the 15-man squad for the upcoming World Cup on Monday and included Asif Ali as well. The cricketer’s hard work paid off but the fact that he will be returning to Pakistan following his daughter’s demise might make him unavailable for the warm-up matches. The chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq told the reporters during the squad announcement that they will confirm the 27-year-old’s availability once everything is finalised.

As of now though it seems that Asif Ali won’t be playing the warm-up games for Pakistan and might just return back in time for their opening World Cup encounter. The Men in Green are scheduled to play their two warm-up games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh on May 24 and 26 in Bristol and Cardiff respectively. They will begin their campaign in the mega event against Windies on May 31 at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

As far as the other changes in the World Cup squad are concerned, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have been recalled. Junaid Khan, Abid Ali and Faheem Ashraf have been dropped following a poor show in the recently concluded ODI series against England.

[interaction id=”5cdfe868df3c8d130786d3bd”]