Ace Pakistani leg-spinner and white-ball vice-captain Shadab Khan may not play in the first two one-day international matches against Australia of the upcoming three-match ODI series, as he is yet to recover from his fitness issues.
Australia created history by defeating Pakistan 1-0 in the three Test-match series a few days ago, when they won the third and final Test match at Lahore by 115 runs, registering only their third Test series win over the Asian country in their own backyard after 1959 and 1998.
Pat Cummins joined the likes of Richie Benaud and Mark Taylor as Australian captains to win a Test series in Australia.
Now the focus shifts to the limited-overs series as Pakistan and Australia will clash in three ODI matches on March 29, 31, and April 2, with all three matches to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The two teams are also slated to play a one-off T20I match, which will take place on April 5, also in Lahore.
Shadab Khan Lacking Match-Fitness To Feature In The First Two ODIs Between Pakistan And Australia
Cricket Pakistan stated that sources have said that Shadab Khan, the Pakistan limited-overs vice-captain is yet to regain 100% match fitness and might miss the first two one-day matches of the three-match ODI series against Australia in Lahore.
As per sources, the 23-year-old leggie has got rid of the groin injury to a great extent but has not been able to get the match fitness. Team management is reluctant to field Shadab as it can cause more trouble to his injury. If he passes the fitness test, he can play the last ODI of the series.
Pakistan men’s team manager also shared information about Shadab’s injury, mentioning that his injury status would be confirmed tomorrow.
Shadab suffered a groin injury while leading Islamabad United in season seven of the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2022). Asif Ali led United in his absence, however, he returned to lead the side in the second Eliminator against Lahore Qalandars.
Shadab also featured for Northern in the ongoing Pakistan Cup but he could only play two games where he took two wickets.
Meanwhile, the PCB selection committee has announced leg-spinner, Zahid Mahmood, as the backup of Shadab while Zahid is also the replacement of Mohammad Nawaz, who was ruled out of the entire series due to a foot injury.
Pakistan ODI and T20 squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique*, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq*, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Saud Shakeel*, Shaheen Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir (*ODIs only)
