On Thursday, Pakistan’s Geo News reported that head coach Mickey Arthur, skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq have agreed to include these two in place of struggling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf and newly selected opener Abid Ali. They would be left out of the squad, which is set to be finalised before May 23 (deadline announced by the ICC).
Batsman Asif Ali played some crucial knocks in the ongoing series against England. He scored back-to-back fifties (51 & 52) in the second and third ODIs, essentially grabbing the World Cup squad at the eleventh hour.
On the other hand, Amir is currently suffering from chicken pox and undergoing treatment in London. Initially, he was ignored from World Cup selection because of a sudden dip in his form after his game-changing performance in the Champions Trophy 2017 final against India.
Since that encounter, the left-armer managed to scalp only five wickets in his last 14 international games. However, the recent slump in Pakistan’s bowling attack has forced the think tank to bring back the veteran pacer.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is slated to begin from May 90 in England and Wales. Pakistan will play their opening game against the West Indies on May 31.