ISLAMABAD: Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah could miss the entire ICC World Cup 2023 due to his recent shoulder injury in the Asia Cup. The ICC World Cup is set to begin in India next month.
ESPNcricinfo, reported on Saturday that the injury to Naseem Shah’s right shoulder appeared to be worse than what was initially reported.
According to the reports, the PCB would go for a second opinion, however, scans from tests conducted in Dubai appeared to explain that the injury could rule him out for the rest of the matches this year.
There are reports that due to the severity of the injury, Naseem would require several months to recover and may miss his participation in the Test series in Australia at the turn of the year, as well as the next Pakistan Super League next year.
Meanwhile, the officials from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are of the view that their medical team has been monitoring the status of the injury, after which Shah’s status and his return to the team would be decided.
Naseem Shah received an injury after diving near the third-man boundary during Pakistan’s second game against India at the Asia Cup last week, followed by his exit from the ground during the game. Later, the PCB issued a press release stating that Naseem had been ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
In the absence of Naseem Shah, PCB might pick Zaman Khan for the World Cup who played his last game during the Asia Cup. However, the final decision is yet to be taken.
ICC World Cup From Next Month
The ICC World Cup 2023 will commence in India next month, with 10 teams fighting for the mega title across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19. The opening ceremony will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Like the 1992 World Cup, the current Cricket World Cup would be played in the round-robin format with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches.
The top four teams would qualify for the final four (semifinals), which would be held in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16. There are reserve days for the semi-finals and the final.
