ICC World Cup 2019: Why Hasan Ali is the best bet among Pakistani fast bowlers in ICC Dream11 Fantasy
Pakistan has always been one of the best fast bowling teams in the world. Most of the pacers they have produced over the years—Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and others—have gone on to become cricketing Legends.
The current Pakistani World Cup squad also has some world class fast bowlers in Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz, but are they good enough to deserve a place in your Fantasy Team? If yes, then well and good, but if not, who are the ones you should pick?
Hasan Ali reacts after being named as ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year
The Pakistan paceman says he is honoured to be recognised by the ICC.
In fact, there are three more young pacers like Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Hasnain in Pakistan’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 Squad. And if statistics and recent form are anything to go by, Hasan Ali appears to be the best bet out of these five bowlers for your World Cup fantasy aspirations.
While most of the Pakistani pacers have been in and out of Pakistan’s ODI squad, Ali has been a regular name ever since he made his debut back in 2016. It is evident from the fact that he has played the most number of ODIs (49) among Pakistani pacers since World Cup 2015. In fact, no other Pakistani pacer has taken more wickets than his tally of 80 during this period. And those wickets have come at a decent economy rate of 5.42 and an excellent strike-rate of 29.3, which means he will pick up at least two wickets every match if he bowls his full quota of 60 deliveries. These numbers make him a very good bowling option for your fantasy team and you can even consider using the ‘Bowling Machine’ Free-hit on him.
CWC19: Perfect Pairs – Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali
Among the pacers featuring for Pakistan in this World Cup, only Shaheen Afridi has a better strike-rate (26.7) than Hasan Ali. None of the other pacers come even close to replicating his numbers. So, Shaheen appears to be a better option if strike-rate is consider. However, what tilts the scale in favour of Ali is his batting ability and the fact that he will be a constant name in Pakistan's XI throughout the tournament.
Ali has two ODI fifties to his name while batting down the order and even has a superb overall strike-rate of 106.27. Considering the inconsistent nature of Pakistan’s batting, it is fair to say that Ali would find enough batting time to make an impact to your fantasy score from that dimension as well. So, there is a two-fold advantage in having Ali in your team—both in daily and season long contest—over other Pakistani speedsters.