Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan ruled out of first Test against New Zealand

Pakistan cricket team received a massive blow as their ace all-rounder Shadab Khan has been ruled out from the first Test match against New Zealand which will be played on December 26th, 2020 in Mount Maunganui. As Shadab led Pakistan in the recently concluded T20 series against Kiwis and the team won their last match against the host by 4 wickets in Napier but lost the T20 series by 1-2.

As Shadab suffered a thigh injury in the last encounter and due to which he will not take part in the upcoming Test match.

However, their regular skipper Babar Azam sustained a thumb injury in Queenstown when he was training, and due to which he was ruled out in the entire T20 series and the first Test match against New Zealand and efficient domestic Test scorer Imran Butt has been named as his replacement.

As per the media reports, Shadab will undergo his MRI scans in Tauranga on Thursday, and based on the test results PCB will get clarity over how long will it take for their ace all-rounder to regain his full fitness.

He has been replaced in the First Test match by left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar. However, Zafar has a good record to his name when it comes to his performance in the domestic circuit as he clinched 38 wickets in the recently concluded 2019-20 first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He also took 8 wickets in the National T20 cup 2020-21 for Central Punjab.

In total, he has played 39 first-class games where he clinched 144 wickets with a bowling average of 2.85.

Pakistan squad for Tests: Mohammad Rizwan (captain for 1st Test), Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah, and Zafar Gohar.