Who will be Shaheen's new-ball partner in World Cup? Babar responds

Pakistan's captain, Babar Azam, shed light on the uncertainty surrounding the new-ball partner for Shaheen Shah Afridi in the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

During the pre-departure presser, Babar acknowledged the void left by Naseem Shah's absence and the unique edge that Shaheen and Naseem's partnership had brought to the team.

"Of course we will miss Naseem Shah as Shaheen [Afridi] and Naseem bowling together gave us a different edge. It was not easy to pick his replacement, but we all sat together and got input from [chief selector] Inzamam ul Haq. We went with Hasan Ali because he has experience. He has played the World Cup before," Babar said.

However, Babar remained tight-lipped about disclosing who would be entrusted with the new-ball duties, highlighting the team's decision to keep their strategies undisclosed at this juncture.

"I cannot comment who will bowl the new ball or the old ball, as we cannot reveal our strategies right now. But we have not made any concrete plans right now, it will become more clear to us when we travel to India and assess the conditions," he further added.

Aiming to put their best foot forward in the mega tournament, Pakistan is set to leave for India tonight, where they will play their first warm-up match against New Zealand on Friday.