Babar Azam has raised the possibility that Naseem Shah may not recover in time to take part in Pakistan's opening games at the World Cup in India. While the PCB has not released a timeline for Naseem's recovery from a right shoulder injury, Babar seemed uncertain whether Naseem would be fit from the start of the tournament next month.

Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah is likely to miss the first few matches of the much-awaited 2023 ODI World Cup, scheduled to begin on October 5 in India.

Babar Azam spoke about the injuries to Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf and said that the 20-year-old pacer will hopefully make a comeback in the later stages of the event.

There is more confidence that Haris Rauf, who has a secondary problem, will be fit for the start of the World Cup; Pakistan did not even officially exclude him from the Asia Cup or officially include his successor, Shahnawaz Dahani, in the squad. Babar expressed similar confidence about Rauf's chances after the game following Pakistan's last-ball loss and Asia Cup exit to Sri Lanka, but seemed to disagree on whether Naseem would be fully available for the World Cup.

When asked what plans Pakistan had if Naseem and Rauf were to be sidelined, Babar was cautious about replacement plans but elaborated on the prospects of both.

“I’ll tell you later,” he said. “I'm not going to tell you our plan B. But yes, Haris Rauf is not bad. He only has a small minor strain but he is recovering before the World Cup. Naseem Shah too... they missed a few games." I don't know how long the recovery will take, but in my opinion Naseem Shah will also play in the World Cup later. But let’s see.”

Naseem Shah is currently in Dubai undergoing a scan on his injured shoulder. The 20-year-old has already suffered some notable injuries in his career. He was sidelined for 14 months due to a back injury sustained a year after his debut in international cricket at the age of 17.

Less than two months after his return, he was sidelined for a month due to a shoulder injury sustained on his County Championship debut with Gloucestershire. Pakistan hopes the injury is not serious and the bowler recovers as soon as possible for the World Cup.