Asia Cup 2022: Hasan Ali comes out in defense of teammate Shadab Khan, shares video of his stupendous catches

Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali has come out in defense of teammate Shadab Khan following the latter’s forgettable outing in the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2022 final against Sri Lanka. Although the leg-spinner bowled a decent spell, his mistakes while fielding cost Pakistan big time. Hailed as one of the finest fielders in the Pakistan camp, Shadab dropped a couple of crucial catches including one of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who went on to score an unbeaten 71 off 45 balls.

As Pakistan lost the contest by 23 runs, Shadab faced massive criticism from different sections as many blamed him for the loss. Owing to the same, Hasan Ali took to Twitter on Monday (September 12) and gave a befitting reply to Shadab’s critics. While he didn’t write anything in the caption, the fast bowler shared a compilation video of Shadab’s brilliance in the field. In the clip, the Pakistan vice-captain can be seen taking some breathtaking catches.

Catches win matches. Sorry, I take responsibility for this loss. I let my team down. Positives for team, @iNaseemShah, @HarisRauf14, @mnawaz94 and the entire bowling attack was great. @iMRizwanPak fought hard. The entire team tried their best. Congratulations to Sri Lanka pic.twitter.com/7qPgAalzbt

— Shadab Khan (@76Shadabkhan) September 11, 2022

The post went viral in no time and fans hailed Hasan for defending his teammate. It must be noted that Hasan and Shadab have played a lot of cricket together and are known to share a great bond. The same was evident in the fast bowler’s post. Meanwhile, the pacer wasn’t selected in Pakistan’s initial squad for the continental tournament but was included after multiple injuries in the camp. He got to play just one game against Sri Lanka in the Super Four stage, where he went wicketless and gave away 25 runs in three overs.

Shadab Khan gutted with his poor show

As far as Shadab is concerned, the all-rounder was impressive in the major part of the tournament as he contributed in all three departments. However, the Pakistan vice-captain was thoroughly disappointed with his horrendous show in the final. Following the conclusion of the contest, the 23-year-old took to Twitter and took the blame for the loss. He also apologised to Pakistan fans and supporters.

"Catches win matches. Sorry, I take responsibility for this loss. I let my team down. Positives for team, @iNaseemShah, @HarisRauf14, @mnawaz94, and the entire bowling attack was great. @iMRizwanPak fought hard. The entire team tried their best. Congratulations to Sri Lanka," he tweeted. 

pic.twitter.com/UmG7tphQDg

— Hassan Ali 🇵🇰 (@RealHa55an) September 12, 2022