Imad Wasim passed fit to play India

Pakistan were forced into a late call over the inclusion of Imad Wasim ahead of Sunday's group game against India, but received good news on that front: the allrounder was passed fit after a fitness test on the eve of the game. Coach Gary Kirsten confirmed this at Pakistan's pre-match press conference.

Ten days earlier the PCB had said Imad missed the final game of the T20I series against England for "precautionary reasons" with a suspected rib injury, but then he also missed Pakistan's first game at the World Cup against USA.

Imad's return will be a big boost for Pakistan: in his absence, they had struggled to balance the side. They decided to go into the game against USA with an out-of-form Azam Khan and Shadab Khan as the only specialist spinner, despite lingering concerns about his ability with the ball.

Azam was dismissed for a golden duck, while Shadab came in for pointed criticism by his captain Babar Azam, when he said following the loss that Pakistan's "spinners" (Iftikhar Ahmed, the part-timer, was the other option and bowled just one over) struggled to pick up wickets.

Now, Imad is likely to slot into the XI in Azam's place.

While this specific rib niggle - the PCB officially called it "discomfort in his right rib cage' - has not been an issue for Imad in the past, he has struggled with a range of injuries. He has nursed a knee injury for much of his career which inhibited his ability to play the longer formats.

Ahead of the 2019 World Cup, he was given extra time to pass a fitness test due to his chronic knee injury, and he initially retired from the international game in 2023.

On his return earlier this year, he made it clear he was not signing a central contract, and had only returned for this particular World Cup.