Christchurch: Pakistan men’s national team captain Babar Azam will miss the second Test against New Zealand, which commences at the Hagley Oval from Sunday (January 3). In his absence, keeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan will lead the side.
Babar had a full-fledge training session on Friday (January 1) but felt slight pain in his thumb, following which the team management has opted against taking any risk.
Babar had to sit out the three-T20I series and the first Test, at Mount Maunganui, after he fractured his right thumb during a net session in the lead-up to the white-ball series.
PCB have confirmed that Babar Azam has failed to recover from the fracture to his right thumb and, as a consequence, has been ruled out of the 2nd Test against New Zealand which starts on 3rd of January; Mohammad Rizwan will continue to lead the side in Babar's absence#NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/OACzQzjc0O
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) January 2, 2021
Team Doctor Sohail Saleem said, “We have seen improvement in Babar Azam’s injury but he is yet to fully recover. He is our captain and the most important batsman in the lineup, so we do not want to take any risk.”
“The medical team is constantly reviewing his injury and we are hopeful he will be available for the home series against South Africa.”
