Pakistan’s premier pace Naseem Shah has been potentially ruled out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 starting from 5th October onwards. During the 2023 Asia Cup, Shah bowled brilliantly in the entire tournament. He looked most threatening in the Super 4 match against India at Colombo but was not able to pick any wickets.
The trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf did a superb job in ODI cricket. Naseem Shah did not feature in the do-or-die match against Pakistan which they lost by 2 wickets. The Pakistan Cricket Board will announce the 15-member squad today or Wednesday.
Here we look at the 3 Pacers Who Could Replace Naseem Shah in the Pakistan World Cup squad.
- Shahnawaz Dahani
Shahnawaz Dahani could be given a chance to replace Naseem Shah in the Pakistan World Cup squad. With Pakistan struggling with pacers, he can create an impact for Babar Azam and Co by bowling lovely deliveries putting the pressure on opponent batters.
Dahani flew as a replacement as Haris Rauf injured himself during the Super 4 match against India. His journey was short-lived as Pakistan was knocked out of the tournament as they lost by 2 wickets.
Dahani played a total of 11 T20I matches and picked 8 wickets at an economy of 9.06 runs per over. He last featured for Pakistan in the T20I format against Bangladesh on 22 November 2021. Dahani featured in only 2 ODI matches and grabbed only 1 wicket at an economy of 4.56 runs per over.
The pace bowler played the last ODI against the Netherlands on 21st August 2022. It could be an ideal option for Pakistan captain Babar Azam to restrict the opponent batters.
- Zaman Khan
Zaman Khan made his ODI debut during the Asia Cup encounter with Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. He bowled with great control and put the Lankan batters under pressure. Pakistan lost the match by 2 wickets with an impressive bowling effort in the 42nd over. He went for 39 runs in his 6 overs and bowled discipline lines initially.
With 8 runs to defend, Zaman Khan bowled some beautiful yorkers to Charith Asalanaka and Pramod Madhushan. Khan was unfortunate with outside going for a boundary. His bowling impressed everyone with decent variations.
Zaman has a good action, he could provide some assistance to Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf could be an ideal foil for both these top-quality Pakistan pacers. He could provide some relief for Babar Azam and Co in the upcoming World Cup that Babar can trust to bowl him death overs.
- Hasan Ali
Hasan Ali has been out of the option for the Pakistan side for quite a long time due to poor form. He could be added to the squad for the upcoming World Cup 2023 that will be played in India. Ali was at his prime best with 13 wickets from 5 matches in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and was named the player of the tournament as Pakistan won the trophy defeating arch-rivals India.
The pace bowler’s performance has dipped down with the ball since 2022. He grabbed a total of 7 wickets from 9 international games across all formats for Pakistan. Hasan Ali featured in the test match against New Zealand at Karachi in 2023.
If Pakistan wants experience to be added to the squad, Hasan Ali could be an ideal option as he has picked up 229 wickets across all formats in 132 games.
Pakistan would be looking for some viable option that can create an impact on good batting pitches in India.
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