Queenstown: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday confirmed that skipper Babar Azam has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand.
Azam has been ruled out of the series after suffering a fracture in his right thumb during Sunday morning's practice session.
The number two ranked ICC T20I batsman suffered the injury during a throw-down session, following which he was taken to a local hospital where X-rays confirmed the fracture.
As such, Babar will be unable to attend nets for, at least, 12 days, meaning he will not be available for the December 18-22 T20Is to be played in Auckland, Hamilton, and Napier, respectively. During this period, the doctors will continue to monitor Babar's injury before confirming his participation in the first Test, which starts at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, on December 26.
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"Injuries are part and parcel of professional sport and while it is hugely disappointing to lose a player of Babar Azam's calibre for the T20Is, this opens up opportunities for the other highly talented and exciting players to step-up, understand their responsibilities and try to prove that the Pakistan side is a complete package," Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said in an official release.
"I have spoken with Babar and he is sad to miss the T20I series as he was fully focused and keenly looking forward to the T20Is. We have a long season of cricket ahead and we now hope that he regains complete fitness as early as possible so that he can return to competitive cricket," he added.
Babar suffered the injury a day after Imam-ul-Haq had fractured his left thumb also during a throw-down session. Imam had also been advised a 12-day rest, which confirmed his non-availability for the Pakistan Shaheens' four-day match against New Zealand 'A', which starts in Whangarei on Thursday, December 17.
As with Babar, the doctors will continue to monitor Imam's injury before confirming his participation in the first Test.
Meanwhile, Pakistan T20I vice-captain Shadab Khan is also carrying a groin niggle, which limited his participation in Sunday's net sessions to batting only. He had missed the Zimbabwe T20Is due to a similar injury and the decision on his participation in the Auckland T20I will be made closer to the match.
Pakistan squad for New Zealand T20Is: Shadab Khan (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Musa Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir, and Wahab Riaz. Babar Azam (withdrawn due to injury).
