LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Friday the men’s squad for the ICC World Cup 2023.
The squad will be led by star batter Babar Azam while Shadab Khan will assist him in captaincy.
In an expected change, Hasan Ali has replaced Naseem Shah in the 15-member mega-event squad. Naseen Shah suffered a shoulder injury at the Asia Cup 2023 and is likely to stay on the sidelines for a long period of time.
Hassan Ali last played an ODI match for Pakistan last year against West Indies in Multan.
The squad was announced by chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Pakistan squad for ICC World Cup 2023
Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, M Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Salman Ali Agha.
Zaman Khan, Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed will be the travelling reserves with the team.
Pakistan made two changes to the squad which played in the Asia Cup with all-rounder Faheem Ashraf dropping down and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris giving way to reserves.
The ICC World Cup 2023 will take place in India with ten teams clashing for the elusive title across 10 venues from 5 October to 19 November, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opening match and the final.
The Cricket World Cup will be played in the round-robin format with all teams playing against each other for a total of fourty-five league fixtures.
The top 4 teams will qualify for the semifinals, which will be played in Mumbai on 15 November and in Kolkata on 16 November. The semi-finals and the final clashes will have reserve days.