In a swift move, Pakistan added fellow pacers Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan to their Asia Cup roster as replacements for Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. It’s uncertain whether Naseem and Rauf can heal in time for Pakistan’s last Super Four stage match against Sri Lanka on Thursday after picking up aches and pains during Pakistan’s 228-run loss to India on Monday.
Although the team management is optimistic that both Naseem and Rauf will be healthy in time for that match, they won’t take any chances with the star pair with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup starting in just a few weeks.
The two will continue to be monitored by the team’s medical staff, the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement. “This is only a precautionary measure keeping in mind the fitness and well-being of the players ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup next month.”
“The team management will only ask the ACC technical committee for a replacement if Haris or Naseem are ruled out for the upcoming week.” Babar Azam’s team dropped to third place on the Super Four table as a result of Pakistan’s huge loss to India, thus a victory over Sri Lanka is probably necessary to secure a spot in this year’s final.
Dahani has participated in two ODIs and a total of 11 T20I matches for his nation, while Zamar, 22, has only made six appearances for Pakistan in the game’s shortest format and has never taken part in an international ODI.