Naseem Shah has been ruled out of the Asia Cup and right-arm fast bowler Zaman Khan has been included as a replacement in Pakistan’s 17-player squad for the ongoing Men’s ODI Asia Cup 2023, announced the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in a statement on Wednesday.
As per the board, Naseem injured his right shoulder during the Super 4 match against India. They added that Shah is being monitored team’s medical panel considering the Cricket World Cup 2023 that will be played next month.
During the match against India, Haris Rauf was also injured and did not bowl during the reserve day when play resumed.
The PCB while giving an update on the bowler shared that he was recovering “well after he felt discomfort in his right flank on the first day of the match”.
“These two fast bowlers are our assets and the team’s medical panel will provide them the best possible care ahead of the all-important World Cup,” said team doctor Sohail Saleem.
In response to the injuries, Pakistan had called up Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan as backups as a precautionary measure.
Since then, Zaman joined the team in the morning today and will train with the squad at the RPICS in the evening.
Pakistan’s next and last match of the Super Four will be against Sri Lanka.
India have defeated Pakistan and Sri Lanka and is the only team to have won both of their Super Four games. With two out of two victories, the Blues have qualified for the event’s final.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka — along with Pakistan — have won one match and lost the other in the Super Four stage. Sri Lanka and Pakistan recorded their wins against Bangladesh but the former have a slightly better net run rate (NRR) than the latter.
After Pakistan’s 228-run defeat against India, their NRR fell to -1.892. Bangladesh is officially out of the race for the final with two defeats in the two games.
