'It was all very sudden': Hassan Khan breaks silence on USA move

KARACHI: Former Pakistan U19 captain Hassan Khan on Tuesday shared insights into his decision to make a move to the United States of America (USA) to pursue his professional cricketing career for the associate nation, stating he did not make the call out of frustration.

Hassan, who led the Green Shirts at the ICC Men's U19 World Cup 2018, made the USA switch in 2023 after going unpicked at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) players draft that year.

Following his move to the USA, the all-rounder started playing for Chicago Kingsmen and eventually landed a deal with Major League Cricket's (MLC) San Francisco Unicorns.

The 27-year-old soon emerged as one of the most sought-after all-rounders in franchise leagues across the world and has consequently featured in two editions each of Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) and the West Indies' Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

He eventually made his return to the PSL in the ongoing edition, representing Hyderabad Kingsmen as an overseas player due to his allegiance with the USA Cricket.

Hassan, once labelled as Pakistan's all-round prodigy, has finally addressed his USA move, revealing there was no particular moment that led to the decision, which he described as an opportunity and asserted he availed it without thorough deliberation.

"If I'm honest, there wasn't any particular moment. It was all very sudden, and the decision was made quite abruptly. I didn't really think it through in detail, like deciding to leave everything behind or anything like that," Hassan told reporters on the sidelines of Hyderabad's training session here.

"It wasn't that sort of situation; I simply got an opportunity, quite unexpectedly. As far as I remember, it all happened within a period of about 10 to 15 days," he added.

He further suggested that perhaps representing Pakistan at the international level was not in his destiny and thus took a "slightly difficult" path, but insisted that he was satisfied with his decision and had no complaints, adding that it helped him earn respect.

"Perhaps it just wasn't in my destiny to play for Pakistan. God has different plans for everyone. It was a slightly difficult path, but it's the one I chose," Hassan continued.

"By the grace of God, I've earned respect, and He continues to bless me with it. I'm playing in leagues around the world, and I have no complaints against anyone. Alhamdulillah, I'm satisfied with my decision and with my cricket," he added.

Hassan also addressed the tournament debutants' underwhelming start to their PSL 11 campaign as they lost each of their first three matches and sit at the bottom of the standings with a negative net run rate of 2.077.

He acknowledged that Hyderabad could not get to a desired start but stressed that the team's environment was very positive and the players are gelled up before expressing his hope that the upcoming Karachi leg, slated to get underway with their faceoff with 2017 champions Peshawar Zalmi, would bring a change in their fortune.

"Things didn't begin exactly the way they should have, but the environment now is very positive. All the boys are coming together, bonding well and training as a unit," Hassan stated.

"We are also spending time together at the hotel, so it's a good atmosphere overall. Hopefully, now that we have arrived in Karachi, things will change and we will get off to a strong start here tomorrow," he concluded.