Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed, who was already ruled out of the Australia Test series with an ankle injury, is now ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand with a knee injury.
Problems are mounting for the national cricket team as they are specialist spinners and will miss an important T20I series against New Zealand ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, the PCB is assessing Abrar’s fitness and has concluded that the spinner will need rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. Chief selector Wahab Riaz has confirmed the return of Abrar Ahmed, emphasizing the player’s recovery process for future matches.
Abrar Ahmed to miss T20I series against New Zealand due to knee injury
Abrar was initially included in Pakistan’s Test squad for the ongoing Test series against Australia. However, he first injured his ankle and was ruled out for the first test. He was not fit to play the second Test and has now faced a knee injury that will rule him out of the New Zealand T20I series.
As Pakistan prepares for the T20 World Cup, injuries to key players have crippled the team. Shaheen Afridi, who is the T20I skipper, is not included in the playing XI for the third and final Test. Pakistan have added Saim Ayub and spinner Said Khan for the third and final Test.
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Pakistan headed into the Test series against Australia at the number one position in the points table and has now fallen to the fifth position in the points table. They lost the first test by 360 runs and the second by 79 runs.
Pakistan’s defeat at MCG was their 16th consecutive loss in Test matches in Australia. Heading into the third Test, they added a specialized spinner after playing with a full-tempo attack in the first two Tests.
Meanwhile, the SCG Test is the last and final Test match of David WarnerThe race of. He is just over 300 runs away from reaching 9000 runs in his Test career. You will surely be on the lookout for that milestone. The left-hander has also retired from ODI cricket but is open to playing in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s participation in the T20I series against New Zealand has already been announced. Babar Azam stepped down as Pakistan’s captain in all formats after the World Cup. Pakistan’s performance in the tournament was reviewed by the PCB and then it decided to change the entire administrative and coaching setup.
The PCB also changed: Mohammad Hafeez took over as team manager from Mickey Arthur and former cricketer Wahab Riaz was named the new chief selector of the PCB. Shaheen Afridi is the new T20I skipper and will lead his team for the first time in T20Is.
Pakistan T20I Team for New Zealand T20Is: Shaheen Afridi (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Aamer Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed (retd), Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
Pakistan tour of New Zealand 2024, schedule
January 12: New Zealand vs Pakistan – First T20I in Auckland
January 14: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Second T20I in Hamilton
January 17: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Third T20I in Dunedin
January 19: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Fourth T20I in Christchurch
January 21: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Fifth T20I in Christchurch
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