Pakistan captain Babar Azam has hinted that young pacer Naseem Shah might miss a few matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup in India, starting October 5, as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury. Babar made the comments after Pakistan’s two-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup.
Babar Azam expressed uncertainty about Naseem Shah’s recovery after the match, but expressed more confidence about Haris Rauf’s recovery for the start of the World Cup. Rauf is currently dealing with a side strain. “I will tell you later (on backup plans),” he said. “Not telling you our Plan B now. But yes, Haris Rauf is not bad. He has just got a little bit of a side strain, but he is recovering before the World Cup. Naseem Shah also… they have a couple of missed matches, I do not know [how long] the recovery [is], but in my opinion, Naseem Shah also [will be] in the World Cup later on. But let us see,” he added. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not yet revealed the severity of Naseem Shah’s injury. The bowler is undergoing scans in Dubai for a muscle injury below his right shoulder that he sustained while bowling against India on Monday.