Sohaib Maqsood to miss T20 World Cup due to back injury, Shoaib Malik called in as replacement

Pakistan batter Sohaib Maqsood has been ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup due to a back injury. Maqsood picked up the injury in the National T20 Cup which also ruled him out from Southern Punjab’s match against Central Punjab. MRI scans confirmed that Maqsood's injury won't heal in time which forced PCB to drop Maqsood from the squad. The right-hand batter came to light with outstanding performances in the Pakistan Super League which earned him a place in the Pakistan squad for the England series. PCB identified Maqsood as the player for the future thus included him in the T20 World Cup squad.

Advertisment

The news of Maqsood being ruled out of the World Cup was confirmed by a prominent sports broadcaster Sawera Pasha via her Twitter account. “Gutted to announce that Sohaib Maqsood has been ruled out of T20 World Cup due to back injury," she Tweeted

Maqsood too penned an emotional note from his Twitter account. “The moment we realize that everything happens by the will of Allah, all our worries begin to fade,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik has been named as replacement for Maqsood. Malik brings in tons of experience in this format of the game and is the second-highest run scorer for Pakistan in T20Is. The all-rounder has scored 2335 runs and taken 28 wickets for Pakistan in 116 T20Is.

Pakistan on Friday, 8th September, added Fakhar Zaman, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Haider Ali to their T20 World Cup squad. Surprisingly, the selectors ignored Malik once again despite many experts suggesting that Malik should have been in the first-choice squad.

Pakistan team is currently in Lahore and will leave for UAE on October 15 before opening their campaign against India on October 24 in Dubai.