Kuldeep Yadav is the best spinner going into the World Cup and will give India a distinct advantage in the middle overs through the course of the 50-over showpiece, reckons former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam.
Leg-spinner Shah's selection was subject to the 35-year-old clearing a fitness test, chief selector Mohammad Wasim said in a statement.
Batsman Fawad Alam, who was also named in the 20-member squad along with two specialist spinners could make a comeback to Pakistan's Test team after 11 years.
The selectors have also put Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz on standby to cover for any player who fails pre-tour COVID-19 Testing scheduled later this month.
Six of the 10 Pakistan cricketers bound for England who tested positive for COVID-19 have now registered negative results on re-testing, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday. Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, however, must return a second negative result before they can join the main squad of 20 players who will leave for England on Sunday.
The problem with non-selection of an Indian player in the XI is more to do with lack of matches rather than poor show since they have won both the series that they played in 2021.
Rohit Sharma-led India's main aim would be to settle their middle-order combination and also find a perfect batting position for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Chasing a competitive 258 for victory, Pakistan overhauled the target with just three balls to spare with former captain Shoaib Malik (51 off 43 balls) getting the winning runs.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the fascinating career numbers of players in the World Cup.
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