3 reasons why Naseem Shah's absence won't be a big blow for Pakistan for rest of Asia Cup 2023
Ahead of their virtual semi-final against Sri Lanka, Pakistan have been dealt a blow as their 20-year-old pace sensation, Naseem Shah has been ruled out of the remainder of the 2023 Asia Cup.
Shah injured his right shoulder against India and will be replaced by another right-arm quick, Zaman Khan.
The speedster played four games in the tournament, picking up seven wickets at an average of 20 apiece. His best outing came against Bangladesh when he returned figures of 3-34. He was impressive against India as well, as he picked up three wickets, while conceding 36 runs.
However, Naseem's absence might not necessarily pose huge concerns for Pakistan. Here, we look at three reasons why:
#1 Gives an opportunity to others
The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India is not too far away now and Naseem Shah's injury could be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan. Pakistan do not play any more ODIs after the Asia Cup until their first game of the World Cup against the Netherlands on the October 6.
As such, the current situation gives the management an opportunity to try the other pacers like Zaman Khan and Mohammad Wasim Jr. Another known fact is that Pakistan's premier pacers, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah are all injury prone and hence, it will be good for the backups to have some games behind them in case they are needed in India.
#2 Conditions will suit spin
The conditions in Colombo are likely to assist spin and as such, Naseem's absence might not plague the Pakistani side. We saw how big a role spin played in the previous game between India and Sri Lanka with all 10 Indian wickets falling to spin. Sri-Lanka too lost six wickets to the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.
Pakistan have already named their playing 11 wherein they have brought in Mohammad Nawaz at the expense of Faheem Ashraf. This suggests that the management also believes that spin will play a more dominant role as opposed to pace and hence, Naseem's injury shouldn't really bother Babar and Co.
#3 The bigger picture
While the ongoing Asia Cup is a crucial assigment, there is no denying the fact that the upcoming World Cup is much bigger in magnitude and holds more importance for the team. Pakistan would have liked for Naseem to be available for the remainder of the continental tournament. But, ideally, the team management would look to have his presence in ICC's showpiece event.
Therefore, looking at the bigger picture, it is best for Naseem Shah to recover well and bring glory for Pakistan for the first time since 1992.