Fast bowler Naseem Shah is likely to be ruled out of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 after initial scan results of his right shoulder revealed a serious injury, ESPNcricinfo reported.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is believed to be seeking a second opinion, however, scans from tests in Dubai appeared to show the injury could rule him out for the rest of the year.

Shah’s participation in the Test series in Australia in December could also be doubtful while he could also miss the next edition of the Pakistan Super League if the secondary results back the initial ones.

A day earlier, Skipper Babar Azam said that injured quicks Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah remained central to his team’s World Cup plans after their absence saw the team crash out of the Asia Cup.

“Haris Rauf is not bad, he has a little bit side strain but will recover before the World Cup,” said Azam.

“Naseem Shah has missed a couple of matches but I don’t know about his recovery. But in my opinion he will be in the World Cup.”

The fast bowler was seen walking off in the 46th over during Pakistan’s game against India in the Super Four round at the Asia Cup last week on the reserve day and was ruled out of the tournament after he sustained an injury to a muscle just below his bowling shoulder.

Over the past year, Shah has been at the forefront of the Pakistan pace attack along with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.

Reports said that the PCB is expected to make an official decision once they have results from his secondary scans in a few days.

Zaman Khan replaced Shah at the Asia Cup while Mohammad Hasnain, another possible replacement, is currently also injured.

Earlier, Shah sustained a back injury one year after his debut in the international career, which kept him out of cricket for 14 months.

He is Pakistan’s most effective bowler since making his ODI debut, with 32 wickets in 14 matches while averaging just under 17.