Setback for Pakistani cricket team ahead of 2nd test match against NZ
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Pakistan team captain Babar Azam has not fully recovered from his thumb injury and has been ruled out of the 2nd Test against New Zealand scheduled to begin on Sunday, January 3.
Babar was expected to return to full fitness before the start of the 2nd Test match but he reported discomfort in his hand during the training session, the team management has decided against playing him, afraid of aggravating the injury.
Babar was initially ruled out of the T20I series after he fractured his thumb during a practice session, the management was hopeful of his inclusion in the first Test, but he was subsequently ruled out as the fracture hadn’t healed. ------------------------------
Wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan has been named as the captain for the second Test as well.
The team’s doctor Sohail Saleem said that the medical team is constantly reviewing Babar’s injury and expect him to be fully fit for the upcoming series against South Africa. ------------------------------
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“We have seen improvement in Babar Azam’s injury but he is yet to fully recover. He is our captain and the most important batsman in the lineup, so we do not want to take any risk,” Saleem said.
Here’s the Pakistan squad for the second Test against New Zealand:
Mohammad Rizwan (captain, wicketkeeper), Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah and Zafar Gohar
