Azam’s side lost to co-hosts Sri Lanka by two wickets in a thrilling last-ball match of the rain-affected Super 4 final in Colombo on Thursday.
Naseem and Rauf were injured during the defeat to Super 4 India in the 50-over tournament, a warm-up match for the ODI World Cup in India, which starts next month. “Haris Rauf is not bad. He has a slight side injury, but he will recover by the World Cup,” Azam said.
“Naseem Shah missed a few games and we don’t know how he is recovering. But in my opinion, he will play in the World Cup.”
The absence of the pace duo was felt when Pakistan failed to defend 252 for 42 against Sri Lanka. If you lose your best bowler, it will definitely hurt you and your team,” Azam said after the match. “It’s not that I didn’t try hard enough, but I couldn’t get a good result.”
Zaman, a fast bowler who made an impact in the Pakistan Super League, had eight runs to defend and his first four bowled just two runs, including one wicket.
However, the left-handed Asaranka, who scored 49 goals, drew cheers from the home crowd with his winning goal, leading defending champions Sri Lanka to their 11th Asian Cup final. Azam said the team will learn from their mistakes and put in a better performance in India next month when they are scheduled to play the much-awaited host nation in Ahmedabad on October 14.
“Defensively, we didn’t have the reaction we should have. In bowling, we have problems in the middle overs,” Azam said. “We will learn from them and try to resolve them before going to the World Cup.”
