Hassan Ali came forward in support of his best friend Shadab Khan who suffered immense criticism after dropping the catch of Mark Chapman at a crucial stage during the fifth T20I against New Zealand in Rawalpindi on Monday.
Mark Chapman, who played a match-saving knock against Pakistan in the final T20I of five-match series, was dropped by Shadab in 14th over when he was batting at 67 runs. The new life in the match helped him score his maiden T20I century and that too a remarkable one.
Shadab's dropped catch brought a lot of criticism to him as Pakistan lost another chance to win a series at home. The five-match T20I series held draw 2-2.
Taking to Twitter amid criticism, Hassan backed Shadab. "Prince of Pakistan," he wrote.
A similar situation took place with Hassan back in 2021 during ICC T20 World Cup. Hassan dropped the catch of Matthew Wade in a result-deciding moment during the semi-final against Australia. Wade struck three sixes in a row to knock out Pakistan from the mega event. After the dropped catch, Hassan had to face a lot of backlash.
In the fifth T20I, Chapman, who switched playing for New Zealand from Hong Kong, stood out as a star performer as he helped his team chase down 194 runs from a difficult position.
New Zealand were 26-3 after early wickets were taken by Shaheen Afridi and Imad Wasim. But, Chapman and Jimmy Neesham turned the tables and saved the series for New Zealand.
Pakistan will now host New Zealand in five-match ODI series in Rawalpindi and Karachi from April 27.