The Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah was playing in the Lanka Premier League 2023 where he suffered an injury on his shoulder which raises questions about his presence in the Asia Cup 2023.
Naseem Shah’s injury raises fitness concerns
Pakistan has been preparing for the Asia Cup after PCB announced their squad for the tournament on August 9. But Pakistan Cricket Board receives the news of a shoulder injury of the 20-year-old fast-bowler Naseem Shah.
The sources from PCB indicate that the injury of the player could be a challenge for Pakistan National Cricket Team before the tournament.
Pakistan has a continuous pattern of losing key players due to injuries and controversial events during World Cup preparations. This has been happening throughout the year which reminds the ban on Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif during the 2007 World Cup, and Mohammad Amir’s ban on spot-fixing in the 2011 World Cup.
Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez were banned from bowling for their illegal bowling actions which affected the bowling strength of the team in the 2015 World Cup.
This time, Naseem is injured before the big tournament and his fitness is not yet to be known. Naseem Shah is part of the team’s Pace Bowlers trio which includes Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.
He is currently playing in the Lanka Premier League 2023 for Colombo Strikers in Sri Lanka. Naseem Shah had played seven matches for the franchise and secured 10 wickets at an average of 19.40, an economy rate of 7.32, and a striking rate of 15.90.
It is confirmed that Naseem Shah was sidelined in the crucial match against Galle Titans on August 15 at R. Premadasa Stadium where the Galle Titans won by 8 wickets.
The depth of the injury is not yet determined, making Pakistan Cricket concerned about the impact on their plans for the big tournament. With the Asia Cup and ICC World Cup 2023 being held back-to-back this year, the management is expecting his quick recovery.
Pakistan is preparing well for the big tournaments with world-class batters like Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Imam ul Haq who are ranked among the top five ODI batters.
With the pace bowler’s trio, Pakistan was preparing for the complete team but the injury news gives doubt on Pakistan entering the tournament with a full-strength Squad.
The Babar Azam-led team is set to face Nepal on August 30 in the inaugural match of the Asia Cup 2023 at Multan Cricket Stadium. India will be facing Pakistan on the Asia Cup premises on September 2 at Pallekele International Stadium.
Pakistan will play against Afghanistan before the Asia Cup which will serve as a warmup match for the big tournament. He will be expected for the inaugural game.
Asia cup 2023
The Asia Cup 2023 is the 16th edition of the tournament which will be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Asia Cup 2023 was originally planned to take place in 2021, but due to Covid Pandemic, the tournament was postponed.
Asia Cup will follow both T20I and limited-over formats which get alternated every 2 years. This Asia Cup edition will be following a 50-over format.
Pakistan’s Asia Cup Squad
Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Haris, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan (vc), Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Usama Mir.
