The 15-player Pakistani team has been selected for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, which will take place in India in October and November. The Inzamam-ul-Haq-led national men’s selection committee changed only one player from the team that recently competed in the Men’s ODI Asia Cup 2023, and that move was also forced. Consistency and faith in the existing group were the deciding factors in the selection.
Hasan Ali has taken Naseem Shah’s spot as the fast bowler. He had been forced to withdraw from the event after sustaining a shoulder injury during an Asia Cup play against India on September 11. Naseem has been advised to have surgery after rigorous medical evaluations and consultations with eminent medical professionals. In three to four months, he should be fully recovered.
In addition, the selectors have picked three traveling backups: fast bowler Zaman Khan, unidentified spinner Abrar Ahmed, and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris.
Squad: Agha Salman, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hassan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Babar Azam (C), Shadab Khan (VC), Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Reserves: Mohammad Haris (wk), Zaman Khan, Abrar Ahmed
Prior to their tournament opener against the Netherlands on October 6th, Pakistan will play two warm-up matches against New Zealand on September 29th and Australia on October 3rd.
The team led by Babar Azam enters the mega-event as the top-ranked team and has the greatest win-loss record (2.400) among all teams who have participated in One-Day Internationals during this World Cup cycle.
