Cricket Chief Selector Inzamamul Haq on Friday announced the 18-member Pakistan squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 on Friday, which notably includes bowler Hasan Ali, and excludes star bowler Naseem Shah, who was injured in the Asia Cup.<\/p>\n
The World Cup, hosted by arch-rivals India, will begin on October 5. Pakistan\u2019s first match is on Oct 6, against Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in the Indian city of Hyderabad.<\/p>\n
Ali was included in Shah\u2019s stead after the latter injured his shoulder in the Asia Cup tie against India. Haris Rauf, who was also injured in the same match, is part of the squad.<\/p>\n
While answering a question regarding the selection of Ali, who has not played an ODI since June 2022, Inzamam stated that the medium paced bowler was picked because of his experience with a new ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince Naseem is out, we needed a bowler who could ball and I think Hasan Ali is a very good option in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that Ali was a \u201cteam man\u201d and his inclusion in the side would bring energy to the team.<\/p>\n
Shedding light on Shah\u2019s injury, the chief selector said the reports received by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) so far indicated that Shah would be on the sidelines even after the World Cup, which is why the pacer could not be picked.<\/p>\n
The former skipper said the team composition is largely the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not made any such changes. The team has been playing with this combination for the last two years and if I tried to disrupt the team within three weeks of my appointment that would not be okay,\u201d Inzamam stated.<\/p>\n
He added that the selection committee tried to pick experienced players \u201cwho can handle the enormity of the event\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were looking for a player who has performed at the highest level and has played international tournaments, on that basis we picked Hasan Ali,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He stated that the board \u201chas not shut the doors\u201d for any player and anyone could be selected for the team given that they \u201cperform well in the domestic circuit\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPakistan\u2019s domestic cricket performance is the main [criteria] for the selection,\u201d Inzamam said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cricket Chief Selector Inzamamul Haq on Friday announced the 18-member Pakistan squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 on Friday, which notably includes bowler Hasan Ali, and excludes star bowler Naseem Shah, who was injured in the Asia Cup. The World Cup, hosted by arch-rivals India, will begin on October 5. Pakistan\u2019s first match is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-357591","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n