PESHAWAR
\nPakistan have named their 15-player squad for the ICC Men\u2019s Cricket World Cup, which will be held in October and November in India.
\nConsistency and confidence in the current bunch were the keys to the selection as the Inzamam-ul-Haq-led national men\u2019s selection committee made only one change \u2013 that was also forced \u2013 from the squad that played the recent Men\u2019s ODI Asia Cup 2023.
\nFast bowler Naseem Shah has been replaced with Hasan Ali. He had suffered a shoulder injury during Asia Cup in a match against India on September 11 and was ruled out of the tournament. Following thorough medical examinations and consultations with leading medical experts, Naseem has been advised to undergo surgery. He is expected to recover in three to four months.
\nPakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usama Mir.
\nThe selectors have also named three traveling reserves in wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris, mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Zaman Khan.
\nChief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said: \u201cWorld Cup is the most important event in any cricketer\u2019s life and I want to congratulate all the cricketers who have made it to the squad through their impressive performances.
\nThis team has performed wonderfully well over the last couple of years and that is why we have shown faith in the same bunch.
\n\u201cWe were forced to make one change because of an unfortunate injury to Naseem Shah. We had a few injury scares in the recent Asia Cup, but I am glad to share that all the players are fully fit and are eager to perform for their country in the all-important tournament. I have received encouraging reports from our medical panel about Haris Rauf.
\nHe has started to (shadow) bowl at the National Cricket Academy and will be available for selection.
\n\u201cI have a firm belief that this squad can bring the World Cup trophy to Pakistan and make the whole nation proud with their incredible performances. It is time to get behind our team and provide them with the backing and support that they need.\u201d
\nPakistan will play two warm-ups \u2013 against New Zealand on September 29 and Australia on October 3 \u2013 before their tournament opener against the Netherlands on Oct 6. Babar Azam\u2019s side enters the mega-event as the number one ranked side and enjoys the best win\/loss ratio of 2.400 in this World Cup cycle for any side that has played the One-Day International format.
\nPakistan missed out on a semi-final spot in the 2019 iteration of the event because of a lower net run-rate to New Zealand, who ended up as runners-up.
\nThe team\u2019s best performance came in the 1992 edition when they lifted the trophy at the MCG after defeating England. Pakistan featured in the final of the 1999 edition and reached semi-finals in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR Pakistan have named their 15-player squad for the ICC Men\u2019s Cricket World Cup, which will be held in October and November in India. Consistency and confidence in the current bunch were the keys to the selection as the Inzamam-ul-Haq-led national men\u2019s selection committee made only one change \u2013 that was also forced \u2013 from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-357757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n