ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Pakistan squad announced; Naseem Shah ruled out

Pakistan will face Netherlands in their opening game in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on October 6.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is all set to begin in India within the next two weeks. All ten teams will be reaching India very shortly and will begin their final preparations. The warmup matches will start on September 29, when all ten teams will be playing two warmup games each to get used to the conditions in India. With not much time left, some teams have revealed their World Cup 2023 squads.

On the other hand, a few are about to announce, the Pakistan cricket team, who are considered to be a contenders for the coming World Cup have finally revealed their squads for the coming mega event. Notably, Pakistan had a horrible Asia Cup 2023 edition that was an eye-opener for them. As a result, the Pakistan selection committee has made some necessary changes to the squad.

Pakistan announce squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023; Hasan Ali returns

A few days ago, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that pacer Naseem Shah, who got injured during the Asia Cup 2023, would need another 6 to 8 weeks to recover and was ruled out of the World Cup. As a result, the PCB has called back veteran pacer Hasan Ali as Naseem's replacement. Hasan played his last ODI game in June 2022 against West Indies.

Adding variety to their bowling attack, they have also added leg-spinner Usama Mir. Shaheen Afridi will lead the pace attack along with Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim Jr. Wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Haris will be in a traveling reserve. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf, who was part of the Asia Cup, has been dropped, and Mohammad Nawaz has replaced him.

The rest of the team is the same as it was in the Asia Cup 2023. Babar Azam will be leading Pakistan in his first World Cup as captain. Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, and Abdullah Shafique will be options for the opening slots. Zaman Khan is another backup pacer in reserve, while mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed will be the third player on the reserve list.

Pakistan's squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

Babar Azam (C), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Abdullah Shafique, Salman Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr

Reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed, Zaman Khan