Pakistan team has named Hasan Ali in place of injured Naseem Shah in Pakistan’s ODI World Cup squad. As per reports, Naseem will stay out of action for a long duration as he will take time to recover fully. In order to fill the void caused by Naseem’s absence, Hasan Ali has been included in Pakistan’s squad for oDI World Cup 2023. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Wasim make up the remainder of Pakistan’s pace attack, while Mohammad Haris is among the reserves. The spin-bowling department will be handled by spin-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz while Faheem Ashraf will stay out of action.
“Naseem was injured, he was our main bowler and it was unfortunate. [Mohammad] Hasnain has an ankle injury and is out injured and so is Ihsanullah. If you see how Hasan Ali performed in the LPL or other performances, he has performed better than most. He is an experienced bowler who has played big mega events for Pakistan and performed well in them.”
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s chief selector, said on the situation with the fast bowlers.
“And when Naseem was ruled out, we needed someone who could bowl with the new ball. Hasan bowls well with both old and new ball, and is a team man. His presence lends energy to the team.”
Naseem Shah sustained a Shoulder Injury during Asia Cup 2023
During Asia Cup 2023, Naseem Shah suffered a shoulder injury which has ruled them out of action for several months including World Cup 2023. Naseem will stay out of action even after the ODI World Cup 2023 owing to the extent of his injury.
Inzaman said that the report from doctors has confirmed that Naseem will stay out of action for a longer duration even after World Cup 2023. He further said that at this time Naseem was the best bowler & his absence was a huge loss for the Pakistan team.
Hasan Ali last featured in an ODI in June 2022 & was last seen in action for Pakistan in the second Test against New Zealand held in January 2022. PCB has delayed the announcement of the ODI World Cup 2023 for several days as they were evaluating the performances of the Pakistan team in the Asia Cup 2023 where they ended at the bottom of the Super 4 stage following defeats to India & Sri Lanka. The board also waited on a second opinion on Naseem’s injury, though positive news on that front has not been forthcoming.
Hafeez resigned from the Technical Committee ahead of Pakistan’s ODI World Cup Squad announcement
Notably, on the eve of the Pakistan Squad announcement Chairman Zaka Ashraf met Captain Babar Azam, vice-captain Shadab Khan, technical committee members Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez, as well as head coach Grant Bradburn and bowling coach Morne Morkel. Though the details of their discussion were not revealed, it was based on the timing & nature of Pakistan’s World Cup squad announcement.
Also, one shocking update came on the eve of Pakistan’s squad release. The member of the technical committee, Hafeez resigned from the committee with immediate effect. Pakistan’s team composition looks fragile in the lead-up to the World Cup. A major loss to India & a closely fought defeat against Sri Lanka left them out of the Asia Cup finals. Further injuries have taken a heavy toll on Pakistan’s lineup with Naseem and Haris both missing the last fixtures of Super 4 stage. While Afridi, Agha Salman, and Imam-ul-Haq also had niggles and bruises to contend with.
However, they are expected to get fit on time for the marquee event which will begin with a warm-up match against New Zealand on September 29, followed by another against Australia on October 3. Their first game of the tournament is against the Netherlands on October 6 in Hyderabad.
Pakistan squad for the World Cup:
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali
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