The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have called up Zaman Khan and Shahnawaz Dahani as backups for Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, who picked up injuries during the Green Shirts' Super Four clash against India in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 on Monday.
The decision was taken as a precautionary measure keeping in mind that the World Cup 2023 is just around the corner.
"Pakistan have called up Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan as backups," the PCB said in a brief statement.
"The two have been called up after Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah picked up niggles in the match against India.
"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 replacement from the ACC technical committee if Naseem or Haris are ruled out for the next seven days."
The World Cup 2023 begins in October and Pakistan don't want to take any kind of risks with their primary pacers.
Pakistan's next and last match of the Super Four will be against Sri Lanka, who will take on India on Tuesday and will look forward to continuing their great form after beating Bangladesh earlier.
Earlier today, Rauf was ruled out of the clash against India as a precautionary measure while Naseem also did not bat as he picked up a minor injury on his fingers.
It must be noted that Pakistan were restricted to 128-8 in 32 overs with Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf not coming out to bat due to injuries as they were chasing a target of 357 runs.
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 5-25 in eight overs.
In a sorry batting display, Fakhar Zaman top-scored for Pakistan with 27 runs in 50 balls.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli — who also completed 13,000 ODI runs — was named the Player of the Match for his heroics against the arch-rivals as he played a remarkable knock of 112 runs off 94 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes.
KL Rahul also scored a century as he was not out on 111 runs in 106 balls which included 14 boundaries.
