Rahat Ali replaces Junaid in Pakistan squad

Lahore, Feb 5 (IANS) Pakistan Thursday named left-arm medium pacer Rahat Ali as the replacement for unfit pacer Junaid Khan in their World Cup squad.

The 26-year-old Rahat, who has taken 31 wickets in 11 Tests, has played just one One-Day International (ODI) in June 2012 against Sri Lanka and went wicketless. He was not even included in the country's preliminary 30-member squad for the quadrennial event starting Feb 14.

"PCB chairman Shaharyar M. Khan on the recommendation of chief selector Moin Khan has approved Rahat Ali as a replacement for injured Junaid Khan for World Cup," a statement in the PCB website read.

The board said it has already sent a request to the technical committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the replacement.

"PCB has sent a request to ICC Technical Committee to approve Rahat Ali as a replacement."

Earlier in the week, left-armer Junaid was ruled out of the 14-nation tournament. He failed to recover from a hamstring injury.

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