When asked what plans Pakistan had should Naseem and Rauf miss out, Babar was coy about back-up plans but did expand on the prospects of both.

"I'll tell you later," he said. "Not telling you our Plan B now. But yes, Haris Rauf is not bad. He's just got a little bit of a side strain, but he's recovering before the World Cup. Naseem Shah also... they have a couple of miss matches, I don't know [how long] the recovery [is], but in my opinion, Naseem Shah also [will be] in the World Cup later on. But let's see."

Naseem, 20, has had injury issues in the early stages of his career. A back injury he sustained one year into his international career when he was 17 years old kept him out of cricket for 14 months. Six weeks after his return, he was sidelined for a month with a shoulder injury he suffered on his debut in the County Championship with Gloucestershire.

In the absence of the two fast bowlers, Pakistan played Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Zaman Khan in their must-win game against Sri Lanka. Wicket-taking proved a problem for much of Sri Lanka's chase, with neither able to make an impression, their combined nine overs going for 64 runs as Sri Lanka sneaked home at the death.

Pakistan's squad will return home from Sri Lanka on Friday via Dubai.