Sports Desk
Queenstown: Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been ruled out of New Zealand T20Is after suffering a fracture in his right thumb during Sunday morning’s practice session.
The 26-year-old suffered the injury during a throw-down session, following which he was taken to a local hospital where X-rays confirmed the fracture. Babar will be unable to attend nets for at least 12 days, meaning he will not be available for the T20I series.
The doctors will continue to monitor Babar’s injury during this period before confirming his participation in the first Test, which starts on December 26 at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
On the other hand, Imam-ul-Haq had fractured his left thumb also during a throw-down session. Imam had also been advised a 12-day rest, which confirmed his non-availability for the Pakistan Shaheens’ four-day match against New Zealand ‘A’ which starts on December 17.
Meanwhile, Pakistan T20I vice-captain Shadab Khan is also carrying a groin niggle, which limited his participation in Sunday’s net sessions to batting only. He had missed the Zimbabwe T20Is due to a similar injury and decision on his participation in the Auckland T20I will be made closer to the match.
Pakistan squad for New Zealand T20Is:
Shadab Khan (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Musa Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir and Wahab Riaz. Babar Azam (withdrawn due to injury)
Pakistan Shaheens for New Zealand ‘A’ four-day match:
Rohail Nazir (captain), Abid Ali, Amad Butt, Azhar Ali, Danish Aziz, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah, Zafar Gohar and Zeeshan Malik. Imam-ul-Haq (withdrawn due to injury)
