Hasan Ali wants ‘full-strength’ Australia team to tour Pakistan in March-April

Fast bowler Hasan Ali said that he wants a ‘full-strength’ Australia to tour Pakistan later this year. The Aussies are scheduled to play three Tests, as many ODIs, and a solitary T20I from Thursday, March 3 to Tuesday, April 5. The renowned National Stadium in Karachi and the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will host the red-ball and white-ball matches.

With the first Test set to get underway on March 3, talks of Australian cricketers pulling out of the tour have been doing the rounds. However, their Test skipper Pat Cummins said that most of the Aussie cricketers will go to Pakistan for the matches.

Hasan Ali, in the meantime, reckoned that playing against a strong Australian team would help them analyse better their own strengths and weaknesses.

Hasan Ali shares his opinions

“I’d prefer their [Australia’s] full-strength side to visit so that we also can gauge our strengths and weaknesses in our home conditions. So far, I think, the full team is coming, but we can’t say much about it right now,” Hasan Ali was quoted as saying to the Dawn.

Hasan Ali also had words of praise for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for giving whole-hearted efforts in bringing cricket back to Pakistan. The country has encountered a lot of turmoil ever since the 2009 bus attack on the Sri Lankan team.

“It always makes me happy whenever cricket comes back to Pakistan and PCB is making commendable efforts for it. If this is kept up then hopefully Pakistan will play full-fledged cricket at home and I am looking forward to playing against Australia,” he stated.

Moreover, Hasan Ali wants to be remembered as one someone, who could play all three formats of the game in an efficient manner. He also got the Test Cricketer of the Year award in the PCB 2021 Award on Friday, January 14.

“I’ve liked Test cricket since day one and I don’t feel good when someone labels me as a T20 or one-day player only. I’ve been performing in all three formats. But it’s an honour for me to be named as the Test Cricketer of the Year,” Hasan Ali added.

The pacer is now set to take part in the 2022 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is scheduled to get underway on Thursday, January 27.