Pakistan cricket team receives double boost ahead of clash against England
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The recent concern regarding Pakistan's fast bowler Haris Rauf's rib sprain has been put to rest, as his scans on Tuesday came back clear. The MRI scans revealed no signs of injury to Rauf, ensuring that he won't miss any World Cup matches.
Rauf had to undergo scanning tests after sustaining a rib sprain during New Zealand's innings in the match at Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on November 4.
Additionally, all-rounder Shadab Khan, who suffered a concussion during a match with South Africa last month, is recovering well. Shadab had an awkward fall on his shoulder, resulting in a head injury, and he was replaced by Usama Mir in the subsequent match against Bangladesh.
Remarkably, this was Shadab's third concussion since September last year. However, the leg-spinner is reportedly making a good recovery and will be evaluated during the upcoming training day.
With Pakistan getting ready to face the struggling England team on November 11, the team members will resume their training tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2 pm local time after a day off today (Tuesday). Despite their recent victory via the DLS method against New Zealand, uncertainties still loom regarding whether Babar Azam's team can qualify for the World Cup semi-finals.
Several factors will determine the Green Shirts' chances of advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament. The best-case scenario for Pakistan is securing a victory against England, coupled with a win by Sri Lanka against New Zealand on November 9, which might lead to Pakistan's qualification for the semis. Beyond this straightforward scenario, Pakistan's fate in the tournament also hinges on Afghanistan, who are currently tied with Pakistan at eight points.
If Afghanistan wins both of their remaining matches, against Australia and South Africa, they will qualify for the semis with 12 points. However, even if they win one of their two remaining matches and Pakistan wins their next match against England, both teams will have 10 points, bringing the net run-rate (NRR) into consideration.
Currently, Pakistan's NRR stands at +0.036 compared to Afghanistan's -0.330. However, the equation may change as Pakistan is yet to play one more match, while Afghanistan still has two more matches in the tournament.
