The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has postponed the unveiling of its World Cup squad until late May due to concerns regarding fitness and performance issues with certain players, as reported by the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency on Wednesday.
According to a PCB source, Pakistan is likely to reveal their T20 World Cup squad either on May 23 or May 24, which aligns with the deadline set by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for participating teams to make squad changes without needing approval from the World Cup Technical Committee.
Concerns have arisen over minor injuries affecting Mohammad Rizwan, Azam Khan, Irfan Khan Niazi, and Haris Rauf, prompting the management and selectors to closely monitor their conditions and performances during the upcoming tours of Ireland and England.
The selectors will initially announce the squad for the tours of Ireland and England on Thursday.
Subsequently, the team management and selectors will evaluate the fitness and performance of the selected players before finalizing the World Cup squad.
“The delay in announcement is inconsequential as teams can make wholesale changes to their squads until May 24.
After this deadline, alterations can only be made due to fitness or injury reasons with approval from the technical committee,” stated the source. “Hence, the PCB and selectors have opted to wait until after the first match in England.”
The source further mentioned that the selectors aim to provide additional time for Babar Azam and other players to reestablish camaraderie and regain the previous team spirit in the dressing room before finalizing the World Cup squad.
