Legendary fast-bowler Umar Gul has backed pacer Hasan Ali to rediscover his lost form after series of disappointing performances.

The 24-year-old Hasan, who was the number one bowler in the 50-over format not that long ago, had a difficult time in the recently concluded T20I and ODI series against New Zealand.

In the Asia Cup and T20I series against Australia before facing the Black Caps, Hasan looked a shadow of the bowler he was 12 months back during the ICC Champions Trophy triumph.

But the 34-year-old Gul, who has represented Pakistan in 47 Tests, 130 ODIs and 60 T20Is, believes Hasan has the ability to rediscover his mojo.

“I'm not too worried about Hasan’s current form as all bowlers go through ups and downs in their career,” said Gul while talking to PakPassion. “Sometimes, a loss of form can be down to fatigue and too much cricket and mentally and physically you become tired due to playing continuously. I'm not overly concerned about Hasan as I believe he is a very capable bowler.”

He added: “What can happen is that when you are new to international cricket, teams don’t know about you and you have that surprise element. But after a while, the opposition becomes familiar with your bowling and that can cause issues as they are then wary of your strengths and weaknesses as a bowler. Then as a bowler, you need to come up with some different plans and some new ideas and that is probably what Hassan will have to do.”

Gul further went on to reveal that is now a fan of young and energetic pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who won the player of the series award against New Zealand in the recently concluded three-match ODI series.

“It's very good to see a young cricketer like Shaheen doing so well for Pakistan,” he said. “This is only because he has been given this opportunity at such a young age and has been identified quickly. He is someone who is a very quick learner. He has lots to learn and to work on, but from what we are seeing he is a fabulous talent and I wish him all the best for the future. The more he plays, the more he will learn and the better he will get. He's a special bowler who I believe has a great future ahead of him.”

Commenting about his own plans, Gul reveals that he is looking forward to the next edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

“I am now playing domestic cricket regularly and I’m feeling much involved in the game,” he said. “Although I was a bit unlucky with injuries which prevented me from playing cricket as much as I had wanted but now I am back and feeling fit. I've been captaining Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and we have been very successful in the domestic circuit. I feel that I am bowling with good rhythm, so I'm hopeful that I will get a chance to play in the next edition of the PSL. The yorkers that I was famous for are back and I'm feeling good about my bowling.”