Mohammad Hafeez out of Pakistan World Cup squad, Saeed Ajmal not added yet

Mohammad Hafeez is out of Pakistan's World Cup squad because of injury but it appears his place will not go to Saeed Ajmal.

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The opening batsman suffered an ankle injury during the second one-day international against New Zealand in Napier and has been advised to rest for at least three weeks.

The latest injury is the fourth major blow for Pakistan before the 14-team World Cup which starts in Australia and New Zealand on February 14.

Paceman Umar Gul was not selected because of a knee injury he sustained in January, while another fast bowler Junaid Khan had to be withdrawn from the 15-man squad after he failed to recover from a leg injury.

Replacement?

"He has been advised two to three weeks rest by the doctors so he is out of the World Cup," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman Raza Kitchlew said.

"A request with medical reports has been sent to the ICC technical committee for inducting Jamshed into the squad."

Saeed Ajmal also now appears unlikely to earn a late call into the squad, even though his controversial bowling action has been cleared by the ICC.

His problem, according to captain Misbah-ul-Haq, could be a lack of recent game action as they prepare for their big opening match against fierce rivals India on February 15.

Before Hafeez's withdrawal was confirmed, he said: "Let's see how it goes in the next week, because the team is already announced and everybody is here. He hasn't played any sort of cricket yet for the last five, six months.

"That's a big concern because to go into a competition of high degree cricket, you need a little bit of a level of cricket behind you."

You can watch every match of the 2015 ICC World Cup live on Sky Sports on our dedicated channel, including Australia against England from 3am on Sky Sports World Cup on Saturday 14 February.