NEW DELHI: Pakistan retained fast bowler
Haris Rauf
in their 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Cup, announced on Friday, despite concerns over his fitness and lack of match practice.
The 30-year-old sustained a shoulder injury during the Pakistan Super League in February and is set to play in the second Twenty20 international in Birmingham on Saturday, marking his first match since recovering.
The
Pakistan Cricket Board
's selection committee stated that Rauf is fit and eager to perform.
"Rauf is full fit and bowling well in the nets," said a PCB release. "It would have been nice if he had gotten an outing in the first match at Headingley but we remain confident that he will continue to maintain an upward trajectory in the coming matches."
The first T20I between Pakistan and England at Headingley was called off due to inclement weather conditions.
Pakistan, being the final team to reveal their squad, has been diligently working to find the right combination of players since their previous series against New Zealand ended in a 2-2 draw on their home turf last month.
Babar Azam will lead the squad in the World Cup, his third
T20 World Cup
as skipper.
The tournament will run from June 1 to June 29 and be jointly hosted by the United States and West Indies.
Teams are divided in four groups of five with the top two teams qualifying for the Super Eight Stage in which all matches will be played in the West Indies.
Pakistan's Group A includes arch rivals India as well as Canada and Ireland.
Pakistan will face United States in their first match in Dallas on June 6.
Fast bowler
Hasan Ali
, as well as batters Agha Salman and Muhammad Irfan Khan were left off the squad.
Fast bowler Mohammad Amir -- the only survivour of Pakistan's 2009 Twenty20 World Cup triumph -- is meanwhile staging a comeback after coming out of retirement two months ago.
He is part of a strong pace attack spearheaded by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Rauf, Naseem Shah and Abbas Afridi.
Pakistan lost in the semi-final of the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and in the final in Australia in 2022.
Squad: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim,
Shadab Khan
, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
(With AFP inputs)
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