Pakistan In Trouble In New Zealand As Babar Azam Could Miss The 1st Test Due To Injury

Pakistan captain, Babar Azam could be ruled out from the opening Test of the 3-match series against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui as he is still recovering from a thumb injury. He suffered a fracture in his thumb during a throw-down session in Queenstown on December 12 ruling him out from the ongoing three-match T20I series and is now doubtful for the Boxing Day Test as well.

A source said that Babar is under a 12-day rehab period in order to gain fitness for the Test series. However, the source revealed that the right-hander’s injury is not healing quickly as the Pakistani skipper is still unable to hold a bat properly.

He will have scans on his injury on December 25 and then the management will take a call on whether to risk playing him or not. If Babar is not deemed fit for the first Test, then wicketkeeper-batsman and vice-captain, Mohammad Rizwan will lead the side.

“Babar is under rehab and has done some light training but whether he will be 100 percent match fit in time for the first test is a long shot,” a source was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Babar Azam appointed as the new Test captain

The first Test match on 26th December would have been Babar’s maiden Test as the permanent skipper of the Pakistan Test team. Ahead of leaving for New Zealand, the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) announced Babar Azam as their new Test captain, relieving Azhar Ali of the leadership duties. Azam was already made the limited-overs skipper when he replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed after the men in green failed to qualify for the semifinals of the World Cup last year.

The 26-year-old is currently in the top 10 ICC rankings across all three formats. He is 5th in Test cricket, 3rd in ODIs, and 2nd in the shortest format.

The Pakistan team, led by Shadab Khan lost the second T20I against New Zeland on Sunday, and hence have lost the series as well as the hosts defeated the visitors in the opening T20I also. The third match which would now be a dead rubber is slated for Tuesday in Napier.

Kane Williamson’s side whitewashed West Indies in two-Test match series, a similar result will see them climb to the second spot in the ICC World Test Championship.

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