In what could have be a huge blow to Pakistan ahead of their Super Fours fixture against India as well as the all-important ODI World Cup set to commence in October, their right-arm pacer Naseem Shah suffered an injury scare in the team's Asia Cup 2023 Super Fours match against Bangladesh. The incident happened in the seventh over of the Bangladesh innings when Naseem was stationed at the fine leg fielding position and had to put in a dive to save runs for his side in this Shaheeh Shah Afridi over.
However, the right-arm speedster held his arm in pain. While he laid on the ground for quite some time, he eventually had to walk off the field with the help from the physio. During the time he was off the field, it was Mohammad Haris who came in as a substiutue fielder. However, much to the delight of the Pakistani fans, Shah returned to the field shortly after, suggesting that the injury wasn't a serious one.
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It is being reported that while he was off the field, the 20-year-old was assessed by the team's medical staff. Only when they gave a green flag was when he returned to the field in the 11th over. It should be noted that Naseem has been in fine form in this Asia Cup, while he provided the first breakthrough for Pakistan in their ongoing match against Bangladesh by getting rid of Mehidy Hasan Miraz first ball, he was also impressive in the match against India where the ended up with figures of 3/36.
For now, captain Babar Azam has been using Afridi and Shah with the new ball, bringing in Haris Rauf as the one-change bowler. The trio shared all the 10 Indian wickets to fall on September 2 before rain prevented Pakistan's run-chase from startting, forcing the two sides to share a point. Both India and Pakistan have qualified for Super Fours and will meet again on September 10 in Colombo.