Asia Cup 2023: Pakistan In Danger Of Losing Naseem Shah And Haris Rauf For The Remainder Of Tournament

As if the humiliating defeat against India wasn’t enough, Pakistan has also suffered two significant injury blows that could potentially derail their campaign. The Men in Green could lose the services of their star fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf for the remainder of the ongoing continental championship.

Both the bowlers suffered injuries during the India vs Pakistan match in Colombo and failed to complete their full quota of 10 overs. Rauf did not come out to take the field on the reserve day after feeling “a little discomfort in his right flank” on Sunday (September 11). He bowled 5 overs in the game.

On the other hand, Naseem Shah walked out of the field midway through bowling the 49th over of India’s innings. The young bowler felt discomfort in his bowling shoulder and decided against completing his over. He bowled 9.2 overs in the game and the remainder of his over was completed by Iftikhar Ahmed. Neither Rauf nor Naseem later came out to bat.

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Pakistan in danger of losing star duo:

Both Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah are set to miss at least the next game against Sri Lanka. And it would not be surprising if they go on to miss the final too, provided Pakistan qualifies for it. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have called up Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan as backups for the remainder of the tournament. The PCB, however, insisted that neither Rauf nor Naseem has been ruled out of the Asia Cup.

“This is only a precautionary measure keeping in mind the fitness and well-being of the players ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup next month. Haris and Naseem will continue to remain under the observation of the team’s medical panel. The team management will only request a replacement from the ACC technical committee if Naseem or Haris are ruled out for the next seven days,” said PCB in a media release late on Monday.

Meanwhile, Pakistan suffered a crushing loss against India. The Men in Blue thrashed the arch-rivals by 228 runs to start their campaign in the Super 4 stage with a stunning win. India piled up a mammoth total of 356 for 2 in the allotted 50 overs thanks to unbeaten centuries from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul and fifties from Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

In reply, Pakistan were all out for a paltry total of 128. For India, spinner Kuldeep Yadav starred with the ball, taking a stunning 5-wicket haul. India will next play against Sri Lanka on Tuesday (September 12). A win against the Islanders will be enough for India to make it to the final.