ICC approves Rahat Ali's inclusion in Pakistan squad

Dubai, Feb 6 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) Friday approved Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) request to replace injured pacer Junaid Khan with Rahat Ali in their World Cup squad.

The World Cup's Event Technical Committee accepted Ali as a substitute for Junaid for the tournament which begins Feb 14. Junaid had failed to recover from a hamstring injury he sustained before Pakistan's One-Day International (ODI) tour of New Zealand.

The 26-year-old Ali played his only ODI against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in June 2012, but has 31 wickets from 11 Tests.

Pakistan had Thursday named left-arm medium pacer Ali as the replacement.

Pakistan head to the World Cup having suffered home and away series losses to New Zealand. They open their campaign against arch-rivals India at the Adelaide Oval Feb 15.