Abrar Ahmed Likely To Be Ruled Out Of Perth Test vs Australia - Reports

Pakistan Cricket Team have suffered a major blow ahead of the first Test against Australia in Perth. Star spinner Abrar Ahmed has been ruled out of the first game, as per the reports in ESPNCricinfo. The match will take place from 14th December. 

Abrar Ahmed suffered a leg injury during the third day of the warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra. He walked off the field after bowling 27 overs and didn’t return to the field as he had discomfort in his leg. 

Abrar Ahmed will now be taken for MRI scans on Saturday (9th December) and even if the results come good, he’s likely to take time to recover. The mystery spinner isn’t expected to attain full fitness ahead of the first game on 14th December. 

This will come as a major blow to Pakistan as they don’t have any other spinner other than Noman Ali in the squad. But his bowling style won’t suit Perth conditions. The spinner in 15 Tests has taken 47 wickets. 

Abrar Ahmed has been one of the major reasons behind Pakistan’s success in Tests so far. He has picked 38 wickets so far in his short career but has become a vital asset for the team in such a short span of time. To get a spinner of his quality will be difficult for Pakistan, considering their lean patch in the spin bowling department. 

Pakistan might consider calling Usama Mir and Shadab Khan into the team as a short-term replacement. The leg-spinners are already in Australia, playing the Big Bash League. They also might look at some of the domestic performers if Abrar doesn’t recover on time.

Pakistan squad for the Test series against Australia

Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafiq, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Nauman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed 

Here’s the schedule for the Test series against Australia:

1st Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 14-18: Perth Stadium
2nd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 26-30: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
3rd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – January 3-7: Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)