Pakistan skipper Babar Azam seemed unsure as to whether Naseem Shah would be ready to play from the start of the ODI World Cup in India after suffering a right shoulder injury during the game against arch-rivals India in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2023.
The young Pakistan pacer is currently in Dubai and examined by scans to know more about the injury. The extent of Naseem’s injury has not yet been specified by the PCB. According to reports, the right-arm pacer suffers a muscular issue below his right shoulder, which he appeared to sustain when bowling in the death overs against India.
Speaking to the media after a heartbreaking loss against Sri Lanka, Babar Azam was unaware of Naseem Shah‘s availability for the entire World Cup but was similarly optimistic about Rauf’s possibilities of making it into the team for the first game in the marquee event.
“Not telling you our Plan B now. But yes, Haris Rauf is not bad. He’s just got a little bit of a side strain, but he’s recovering before the World Cup. Naseem Shah also… they have a couple of miss matches, I don’t know [how long] the recovery [is], but in my opinion, Naseem Shah also [will be] in the World Cup later on. But let’s see,” Babar Azam said.
Naseem Shah has been a vital bowler for Pakistan in all three formats and has continued playing cricket in the last 18 months or so. The youngster has played 14 ODI games for the Men in Green picking up 32 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 4.69 and could be a crucial miss for the team in the ODI World Cup if he misses out a few games for the team.
In their crucial match against Sri Lanka without their two primary fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, Pakistan started Mohammad Wasim Jr. and Zaman Khan as they failed to make an impact for the team in the crucial Super 4 game of the Asia Cup 2023.
Pakistan continues to produce some of the finest fast-bowling talents. The Men in Green played an important role in the team’s progress in the white-ball format of the game and the injuries to the key players would hurt the chances of the Men in Green pacers going into the mega event in the country.