(Reuters) – Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman has been promoted to the team’s 15-player squad for the Twenty20 World Cup while leg spinner Usman Qadir has been moved to the travelling reserves due to an injury, the country’s cricket board (PCB) said yesterday.
Experienced batsman Zaman was initially named in the travelling reserves for the World Cup, where Pakistan begin their campaign against arch-rivals India on Oct. 23 in Melbourne.
The PCB said that the change had to be made as Qadir is yet to recover from a hairline fracture on his right thumb that he sustained during their T20 match against England in Karachi last month. He will not be available for selection before Oct. 22. Zaman will arrive in Brisbane from London along with Shaheen Shah Afridi today and will be available for selection for their warm-up matches against England and Afghanistan, during which the team management will assess his fitness.
The 32-year-old’s inclusion in the squad provides another option to the team in their middle order.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood.
