Pakistan’s injury situation in Australia is going from bad to worse as lead spinner Abrar Ahmed has officially been ruled out of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Abrar previously missed the first match of the Australia series against Pakistan in Perth due to a knee injury, but the PCB issued a statement saying that he had not yet fully recovered, so he will miss the second consecutive Test. Not available in Melbourne, where he is expected to be absent.
According to the
PCB release, Abrar is feeling much better and is bowling at “50 per cent” intensity, but he is not yet ready for a Test match. “Abrar Ahmed’s symptoms have improved significantly and he has started bowling at 50 percent intensity,” the press release said.
“He has been doing very well since being diagnosed in Canberra, but he is still not 100% symptom-free.
“Given the nature of the injury and the workload required of a spinner in a Test match, Abrar is not yet ready and will not be available for the second Test.”
The next spinner, Noman Ali, was also ruled out of the Boxing Day Test. In fact, the left-arm spinner was removed from the entire series due to a bout of “acute appendicitis”.
Pakistan replaced Abrar with off-spinner Sajid Khan in the first Test, but Mohammad Nawaz was named as Noman’s replacement. It remains to be seen whether any of them will be in the starting lineup at the MCG.
The PCB release also added that Abrar will undergo a fitness test to determine whether he can play in the remaining series.
“He will undergo a preliminary fitness test on December 25th, which will determine his expected return to play date.”
Pakistan lost the first Test by a huge margin of 360 runs. With all the injuries, they will be looking to pick up their picks again in Melbourne.
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