Shadab Khan ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand

Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan had sustained an injury in his left thigh after participating in the final match of the T20I series, which Pakistan won by 4 wickets in Napier but lost the T20I series by 1-2. Thus, the batsman wasn’t available for selection in the first Test game against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui.

In the latest turn of events, the all-rounder has been ruled out of the second Test that would take place in Christchurch and will also not be available for the home series against South Africa. Shadab had undergone his MRI scans in Tauranga on Thursday, December 24, after which he was advised a six-week rest.

In the reports, Shadab was diagnosed with “high grade full thickness tear to the Rectus Femoris muscle”. Speaking about his injury, team doctor Sohail Saleem said, “The MRI reports have confirmed it is a fresh injury and not the one that had sidelined him from the Zimbabwe series last month,” said doctors as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“The latest injury will be treated conservatively and Shadab will undergo a six-week rehabilitation programme during which he will have weekly ultrasound scans. After the competition of the six-week period, the medical panel will access and evaluate the injury before making a call on Shadab’s return to competitive cricket.” he added.

Zafar Gohar named as the replacement for Shadab Khan

Ahead of the first Test, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar as the potential replacement of Shadab Khan and is likely to go with the same option in the second Test too, starting from January 3 in Christchurch. Zafar had joined the Test side from Hamilton where he was preparing with the Pakistan Shaheens for Sunday’s T20 match against the Northern Knights.

The 25-year-old Zafar has excellent records to his name in the domestic circuit. He had finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in the 2019-20 first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with 38 wickets including five four-fers and one five-wicket haul under his belt. He had also participated in the National T20 Cup 2020-21 for Central Punjab scalping 8 wickets.

Overall, Zafar has played 39 First-class games, picking 144 wickets, including six five-wicket hauls in an innings and two ten-wicket match hauls at a stunning economy of 2.85.