Naseem Shah suffers injury scare on the opening match of Super 4s

Pakistan have suffered an injury scare against Bangladesh in the opening match of the Super 4s of the Asia ODI Series, with pace bowler Naseem Shah walking out off the field with an injury to his right arm. 

Naseem Shah picked up an injury while fielding at fine leg off during the seventh over of the match. Mohammad Naim flicked off a delivery towards fine leg boundary, and Naseem put in a full stretch valiant dive to his left before clutching his arm in agony. He lay flat on the ground for several minutes while the physio helped him, after which he was taken off the field. Mohammad Haris was called in as a substitute for Naseem. 

The speedster is currently being assessed to find out the extent of the damage, and the exact location of the injury, if any. It comes at an untimely time for Pakistan, with their subsequent clash against Colombo on Saturday as the Asia ODI Series reaches towards the business end. With the ODI World Series fast approaching, any uncertainties over the fitness of one of Pakistan’s ace bowlers could disturb their plans. 

Naseem had opened the bowling alongside Shaheen Afridi until the injury, claiming one wicket for 22 runs in three overs, removing Mehidy Hasan Miraz with his first ball of the spell. 

Any call on Naseem’s further involvement in the competition will have to be made relatively rapidly with Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka all vacating Lahore for Colombo on the same chartered flight on Thursday. The remainder of the event will take place in the capital of Sri Lanka, which was confirmed as the host last evening following a couple of days uncertainty.