Pakistan cricket team suffered a huge blow when their premier pacer Naseem Shah was ruled out of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 due to a shoulder injury that he suffered while taking part in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2023. Following this, Shah came up with a heartfelt post on social media and expressed his disappointment after he is set to miss the showpiece event.
"With a heavy heart, I'm sharing that I will not be part of this amazing team that will be representing our beloved country. While I'm disappointed, I believe everything is in Allah's hands. InshahAllah will be on the field very soon. Thank you to all my fans for the prayers!"
Seeing Naseem’s post, his colleague Mohammad Haris responded and said that the pacer could take his shoulder.
"Naseem mera shoulder lele”, Mohammad Haris wrote.
Haris also failed to find his spot into Pakistan's 15-member squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. He was roped in as a travelling reserve alongside Zaman Khan and Abrar Ahmed. Since Naseem Shah got injured, Pakistan decided to add Hasan Ali to the World Cup ODI team. The last time Hasan played an ODI game was back in June 2022.
Babar Azam will continue to lead the Pakistan side, while all-rounder Shabad Khan was also retained as his deputy. Players like Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Haris could not find a place in the 15-member squad.
Pakistan will start their Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign with a game against the Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on October 6.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, and Hasan Ali.