The logjam is over. Pakistan Cricket Board is all set to announce the squad for World Cup 2023 on Friday in Lahore at 11:45 AM IST. Pakistan squad for World Cup was delayed with Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah both suffering injuries during Asia Cup. Furthermore, Pakistan’ failure in the continental tournament also put a question mark on the team’s preparedness. PCB chief Zaka Ashraf met with Babar Azam, chief selector Inzamam Ul-Haq as well as the coaches and the technical committee on Wednesday and Thursday.
Pakistan Squad for World Cup: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr.
PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf met with national coaching staff headed by Mickey Arthur, captain Babar Azam, vice-captain Shadab Khan, members of the technical committee Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah Ul Haq. The meeting was review of Asia Cup as Pakistan were knocked out by Sri Lanka after a narrow loss.
Chief selector Inzamam Ul-Haq did not attend the meeting due to a medical emergency. But he did meet with Ashraf later and gave his input.
Dr Sohail Saleem, PCB’s Director of Medical and Sports sciences, also attended the meeting to give a brief on Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah’s injury status.
Blame Franchise Cricket for Asia Cup failure
Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board has made a point to reject players’ demand to allow them to play franchise cricket. PCB in its meeting has blamed franchise cricket for Asia Cup failure. It must be noted that PCB and the players are in discussion over a central contract clause. PCB has agreed to only two NOCs for Grade A players like Babar Azam and Naseem Shah. While players have asked for more flexibility, with the review meeting blaming franchise cricket, it is going to be a major bone of contention.
With two weeks to go for the World Cup, Pakistani players are playing without any central contract at the moment.
“Discussion revealed that the previous management had allowed a lot of players to play league cricket. It caused them to be fatigued ahead of their national duty. But going forward we have agreed to form a proactive approach to tackle players workload and give national duty a priority,” Zaka Ashraf said in a statement.
Pakistan squad for World Cup
Pakistan have been dealt a big blow with Naseem Shah ruled out of World Cup with a shoulder injury. They have recalled Hasan Ali. However, good news is that Haris Rauf is fit to go.
Naseem Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed. There is good news for Rauf fans. The premier Pakistani fast bowler suffered an injury against India in the Asia Cup. However, he has since returned to practice.
However, there will be no Sarfaraz Ahmed. PCB asked Sarfaraz Ahmed to not play in the domestic game. While there was expectation that he would make it after missing Asia Cup, he is not in World Cup.
Pakistan will begin their campaign against the Netherlands on October 6 in Hyderabad.
Pakistan World Cup schedule
| Date | Day | Team 1 | Team 2 | City | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6 | Friday | Pakistan | Netherlands | Hyderabad | Pak won by 81 runs |
| Oct 10 | Tuesday | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Hyderabad | Pak won by 6 wickets |
| Oct 14 | Saturday | India | Pakistan | Ahmedabad | India won by 7 wickets |
| Oct 20 | Friday | Australia | Pakistan | Bengaluru | Aus won by 62 runs |
| Oct 23 | Monday | Pakistan | Afghanistan | Chennai | Pak lost by 8 wickets |
| Oct 27 | Friday | Pakistan | South Africa | Chennai | Pak lost by 1-wicket |
| Oct 31 | Tuesday | Pakistan | Bangladesh | Kolkata | Pak won by 7-wickets |
| Nov 4 | Saturday | New Zealand | Pakistan | Bengaluru | Pakistan won by 21 runs via DLS |
| Nov 11 | Saturday | England | Pakistan | Kolkata | 2:00 PM |
