World Cup: Most of Pakistani squad skips training session ahead of South Africa clash

Only eight out of 15 members of the World Cup squad along with three reserve squad members participated in the training session at M.A Chidambaram Stadium.

Meanwhile, seven others, including the fast-bowling trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali, opted to rest to avoid any fatigue before the crunch game.

Pakistan play South Africa here on Friday in a must-win game after losing three consecutive games. They currently have 4 points from five games and are in a position where they can’t afford to lose any more games.

Wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan, all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, spinner Usama Mir and opener Abdullah Shafiq were also among the players who opted for rest.

However, captain Babar Azam along with his deputy Shadab Khan came to nets and practiced for around two hours. Imam ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha and Wasim Jnr along with Zaman Khan, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Haris were also among the players who were present at the optional practice session.

The players looked focused on practicing hard hitting aiming to take some advantage of powerplay overs.