Lahore, Jan 31 (IANS) Abdul Qadir has been approved as a replacement for wicketkeeper Mohammad Shayan in the Pakistan squad ahead of their U19 World Cup final Super Six match against the arch rivals India on Sunday.

Qadir, who was one of the five travelling reserves, was named as a replacement after Shayan was ruled out due to a nasal bone fracture which he sustained during a team training session.

“The Event Technical Committee of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 has approved Abdul Qadir as a replacement for Mohammad Shayan in the Pakistan squad,” ICC said in a statement on Saturday.

As England and Afghanistan joined Australia in the semi-finals after recording convincing wins on Friday, leaving India and Pakistan, who face off in their final Super Six match on Sunday, to contest for the final remaining spot.

India’s equation is pretty straightforward. A win against Pakistan will ensure they qualify for the final four as the top-ranked team from Group 2. A defeat however, could spice things up if Pakistan get the net run-rate into play.

For Pakistan, simply winning the match won’t be enough to close the net run-rate gap with India. They would require a victory by a huge margin to leapfrog India in the standings and secure a place in the semi-finals.

If Pakistan bat first, they would need to win by 105 runs or more to finish second in the Group 2 standings and qualify for the semi-finals at India’s expense. However, if they end up chasing, then Pakistan would need to achieve whatever target India set at a pretty fast pace.

For instance, if Pakistan have to chase a target of 251, they would have to do so in 29.4 overs or fewer to progress through to the knockouts. And if the target is lower, Pakistan would have to chase it marginally quicker.

–IANS

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