Bureau Report
Karachi: Former cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq believes that Pakistan skipper Babar Azam will not take part in the first Test against New Zealand because thumb injury needs at least two weeks to recover. The ex-chief selector said that it takes time to come back into the groove after recovering from injury and thinks Babar’s injury has raised many questions.
“Babar was injured on December 13 and the doctors have advised him to rest for 12 days, so he won’t be available till December 25,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel. “The first Test is scheduled to start from December 26 and Babar has only practiced for few days too in New Zealand, so he has been out of practice for a whole month. The management announced 12 days instead of 14 just to make sure people don’t think that he is out of the first Test too,” he added. He criticized bowling coach Waqar Younis for giving statements that can favor the opposition. “I was shocked to hear team management saying that Babar’s injury occurred at the wrong time. Everyone knows he is our main player, but the management should not say we are concerned, as it sends out a wrong message to the opposition that we are down,” he added.
“When you admit something like this, it gives an advantage to the opposition. I didn’t like this statement,” he maintained.
Note, Babar has been ruled out of the T20I series after he injured his thumb on December 13, Sunday during the net session. In his absence, Shadab Khan will lead Pakistan in the series.
