Pakistan has revealed its 15-man squad for the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup, featuring several notable decisions. Hasan Ali has been included in place of the injured Naseem Shah, who sustained an injury during the Super 4 match in the Asia Cup against India. Hasan Ali’s return is seen as a suitable replacement, given his impressive record of 91 wickets at an average of 30.36 since his debut in 2017.
The squad includes just one wicketkeeper, Mohammad Rizwan, with Mohammad Haris serving as the traveling reserve. Surprisingly, experienced batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed has been omitted from the team. Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the Asia Cup, with consecutive losses to India and Sri Lanka, played a role in these selections. An additional leg-spinner, Usama Mir, has been added to the squad, while Shadab Khan has been retained as the vice-captain, despite prior speculations about his exclusion due to his underwhelming performance in the Asia Cup.
These selections reflect Pakistan’s strategy for the upcoming World Cup, with a mix of experience and emerging talent. Along with that let us look at three players who were unlucky to miss out on the World Cup 2023 squad:
#3. Sarfaraz Ahmed
The absence of Sarfaraz Ahmed in the squad, despite having only one wicketkeeper in Mohammad Rizwan, has raised questions. Sarfaraz is renowned for his successful captaincy, notably leading Pakistan to victory in the 2017 Champions Trophy against arch-rivals India. He also achieved a remarkable feat with 11 consecutive T20I series wins for Pakistan. In his ODI career, he has amassed 2,315 runs in 117 matches at an average of 34, and in T20Is, he scored 818 runs in 61 matches with an average of 27. Under his leadership in ODIs, Pakistan won 28 out of 50 matches, boasting a 58.33% winning rate.
#2. Shan Masood
Shan Masood was excluded from Pakistan’s 18-man squad for the 2023 Asia Cup and the ODI series against Afghanistan. With a lackluster ODI record of 163 runs in 9 matches at an average of 18.11 and just one half-century, his omission follows a subpar home season against New Zealand.
While Masood has a more promising Test career with 1,597 runs in 30 matches, his limited-overs performances have been less impressive, with 163 runs in 9 ODIs and 395 runs in 19 T20 matches. With the team struggling with opening pair, the inclusion of Shan Masood would have been a great inclusion.
#1. Naseem Shah
One of the most unfortunate injuries that heavily dented Pakistan’s World Cup campaign was of Naseem Shah. The 20-year-old speedster was among the players who had done all the hard yards and was Pakistan’s top priority ahead of the World Cup, suffering an injury just before the commencement of the World Cup. Naseem picked up a shoulder injury in an Asia Cup match against India. As per reports, the injury is moderate but it will rule the speedster out of action for at least eight weeks.