Left-arm pacer Afridi was ruled out of the recently concluded Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates due to injury despite being named in the preliminary squad by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Afridi has gone to London for rehabilitation and the PCB said the 22-year-old is expected to join the Pakistani team in Brisbane on October 15.
“We are getting encouraging news about Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is likely to resume bowling early next month,” chief selector Muhammad Wasim said.
Before traveling to Brisbane, Pakistan will play in a T20 International tri-series involving hosts New Zealand and Bangladesh in Christchurch from October 7-14.
Fast bowler Mohammad Wasim has also returned to the World Cup squad after fully recovering from a side strain suffered during the Asia Cup.
However, top-order batsman Fakhar Zaman was ruled out of the Babar Azam-led side due to a knee injury. Fakhar was instead named in the traveling reserve, with Shan Masood included in the squad for the shortest format for the first time.
“We have a team that… can perform strongly in the T20 World Cup. So we have shown faith and confidence in almost the same players who have been part of the T20 squad after the 2021 World Cup in UAE.” Muhammad Wasim said.
“We have invested in these cricketers and it is fitting for them to have the opportunity to showcase their skills at the World Cup, an event they are preparing and training hard for.”
Former champions Pakistan will start their T20 World Cup campaign with a blockbuster against arch-rivals India in Melbourne on 23 October.
Squad: Babar Azam (Captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir ( Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Toby Davis)
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