However, their star pacer Haris Rauf is “recovering well” from a side strain and will be ready for their first encounter against the Netherlands on October 6 in Hyderabad, according to the skipper.
The duo had minor injuries during Pakistan’s Super Four match against India at the Asia Cup and were on the bench as the team was eliminated from the tournament after losing to Sri Lanka in Colombo on Thursday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has not yet provided an official timeline for Naseem’s recovery from a right shoulder injury.
As a result, Babar Azam raised concern about Naseem’s fitness for the start of the competition.
“I’ll tell you later… Not telling you our Plan B now. But, yes, Haris Rauf is not bad. He’s just got a little bit of a side strain, but he’s recovering before the World Cup.
“Naseem Shah also… they have a couple of missed matches, I don’t know (how long) the recovery (is), but in my opinion, Naseem Shah also (will be) in the World Cup later on. But let’s see,” he added.
Naseem, 20, is prone to injuries and had a back condition when he was 17 years old, which kept him out for 14 months.
Six weeks after his return, a shoulder injury happened during his debut appearance in the County Championship for Gloucestershire, keeping him out for another month.
Initially regarded as a red-ball specialist, he has matured into an important bowler for Pakistan in all three formats of the game.
In one-day internationals, he has emerged as Pakistan’s most potent bowler, taking 32 wickets in 14 matches at an average of less than 17.
Teams must submit their teams to the ICC by September 28 for the six-week competition, and they may only change their 15-player groups after that date with permission from the event organisers.
Pakistan has no official 50-over matches scheduled before the World Cup begins, although they do have two warm-up games against New Zealand (September 29) and Australia (October 3) that do not have official ODI status.
(With inputs from PTI)