(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] The Pakistan cricket national selection committee led by the country’s former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is expected to announce the 15-member squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in the coming week.
Current Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and Inzamam reportedly held a meeting on Sunday during which they discussed the World Cup team. The major outcome of the meeting was a decision not to make significant modifications to the squad from the Asia Cup 2023 and to keep the changes to a bare minimum.
It is expected that Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed will make it to the World Cup squad as a wildcard entry. This comes as a ripple effect to the poor performance of bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan in the recently-concluded Asia Cup.
Notably, Abrar is yet to make his white-ball debut for Pakistan. He was last seen playing international cricket in the Test format against Sri Lanka in July 2023.
However, the final decision on Pakistan’s World Cup squad will be made after the Pakistan Cricket Board chief Zaka Ashraf holds a meeting with Inzamam and Babar on Monday.
Furthermore, there are several injury concerns within the team. Haris Rauf, who did not bowl on the reserve day of the Super Four game between India and Pakistan is expected to get fit in time. However, their star pacer Naseem Shah, who was in red-hot form during the Asia Cup 2023, is likely to miss the entire upcoming World Cup due to a shoulder injury. Zaman Khan, Hasan Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, and Arshad Iqbal are the top contenders to replace Naseem in the World Cup squad.