Pakistan have named their 15-player squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, which will be held in October and November in India. Consistency and confidence in the current bunch were the keys to the selection as the Inzamam-ul-Haq-led national men’s selection committee made only one change – that was also forced – from the squad that played the recent Men’s ODI Asia Cup 2023.

Fast bowler Naseem Shah has been replaced with Hasan Ali. He had suffered a shoulder injury during Asia Cup in a match against India on 11 September and was ruled out of the tournament. Following thorough medical examinations and consultations with leading medical experts, Naseem has been advised to undergo surgery. He is expected to recover in three to four months.

The selectors have also named three traveling reserves in wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris, mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Zaman Khan.

Squad: Babar Azam (C), Shadab Khan (VC), Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hassan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr

Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris (wk), Zaman Khan, Abrar Ahmed

Pakistan will play two warm-ups – against New Zealand on 29 September and Australia on 3 October – before their tournament opener against the Netherlands on 6 October.

Babar Azam’s side enters the mega-event as the number one ranked side and enjoys the best win/loss ratio of 2.400 in this World Cup cycle for any side that has played the One-Day International format.