National cricket team captain Babar Azam and opener Imam-ul-Haq have been ruled out of the first Test against New Zealand starting on December 26 due to a thumb injury.
The 17-member national squad for the first Test against New Zealand has been announced. National team captain Babar Azam and opener Imam-ul-Haq are not available for the first Test due to a thumb injury. Muhammad Azam, vice-captain of the squad due to Babar Azam’s unavailability. He will lead the national cricket team in the Test match starting from Saturday. He will be the 33rd captain to lead Pakistan in the most important format of cricket.
The tour selection committee has included opener Imran Butt in the 17-member national Test squad. Imran Butt has been included in the national test squad for the first time.
17-member national squad;
Mohammad Rizwan (captain for the first Test), Sarfraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Shaun Masood, Fawad Alam, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Imran Butt, Haris Sohail, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fahim Ashraf Included.
Imran Butt
Balochistan cricket team opener Imran Butt had scored 191 runs in 3 matches of the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first class tournament in the country before joining the team in New Zealand. The 24-year-old batsman had scored the most 934 runs in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy last year. Imran Butt, who averaged more than 62 runs, scored 4 centuries and 3 half-centuries in the tournament.
Schedule
First test; Mount Mangnoi, December 26-30
Second Test Christchurch, January 3-7, 2021
It should be noted that Babar Azam’s right thumb and Imam-ul-Haq’s left thumb were fractured due to a ball hit during training in Queenstown last week. Both the players have not started net practice yet but the PCB’s medical panel He is examining the injuries of both the players while the decision to participate in the second Test match of both the players starting from January 3 in Christchurch will be taken in due course.