Mohammad Hasnain (born 5 April 2000) is a Pakistani cricketer who has played for the Pakistan cricket team since 2019. He is one of the fastest bowlers currently, timed at over 150kmh.[2][3]
Early life
Hasnain was born in a family of six tracing its roots back to the city of Alwar in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and his father, Mohammad Hussain, who owns a cattle feed shop in Hirabad, Hyderabad, was himself a cricketer (a wicket keeper and then fast bowler) who had to abandon the sport to support his large family.[4]
In January 2022, he made his debut for the Sydney Thunder in Australia's Big Bash League (BBL), taking 3 wickets for 0 runs in his first over.
On 15 January 2022, his bowling action was reported in a match against the Sydney Sixers.[14][15] After Moises Henriques questioned his action on field. He was then recalled to Pakistan where he underwent testing in Lahore and was found to have an illegal action, he was banned from bowling until it was rectified.[16] He would later be cleared to return to play on the 9th of June 2022, after lowering his elbow flex from 17-24% to 12-13%.[17]
In November 2019, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh.[27] In May 2020, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) awarded him with a central contract, in a newly created Emerging Players' category, ahead of the 2020–21 season.[28][29]
In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic.[30][31] However, on 23 June 2020, Hasnain was one of seven players from Pakistan's squad to test positive for COVID-19.[32] On 3 November 2020, in the third match against Zimbabwe, he took his first five-wicket haul in ODI cricket, returning figures of 5/26 in 10 overs.[33] In November 2020, he was named in Pakistan's 35-man squad for their tour to New Zealand.[34]
In February 2022, Hasnain was suspended from bowling in international cricket by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to an illegal bowling action.[36] In June 2022, he was cleared to bowl following assements on his action.[37]
Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz were not initially in the squad, but were named as replacements for Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Junaid Khan in the final squad.