KARACHI: Alternate Captain Muhammad Rizwan confident of his team’s good chances of winning Test 2 in Christchurch despite the regular pattern Babar Azam being ruled out once again as he has not yet recovered from his injury.
Babar was again ruled out for the second test on Saturday although he had a networking session on Friday.
“Babar is still not 100 percent sure that he is fit for the test match and I know that he will never take a chance unless he is completely sure that he is in top form,” Rizwan said on the eve of the match.
Babar, who suffered a broken thumb last month in Queenstown during a takedown, will return home without having played a single game in New Zealand.
In his absence in the first test, Pakistan fought valiantly but lost the game in the final session with only four overs to finish the match.
“Babar’s absence is a big blow, as he is a key player, but the series is not over for us yet and we can still win this test and level the series if we play well and with our strength,” said Rizwan, who was fighting half a century in They said both entries in the first test.
The Pakistan team was unable to train properly on Saturday due to the rain in Christchurch.
Rizwan said that after winning the last match of the T20 series, Pakistan had gained some momentum and they led it to the Test series.
“We fought hard in the first test and the players are pretty sure of doing well here as well,” he said.
“The last game of a tour is always very important and we want to end the tour on a winning note,” he added.
Rizwan confirmed that the team’s leadership was thinking about some changes to the team, but said this will be decided later.
the printed circuit board said Babar had a full-blown training session yesterday but felt a slight pain in his thumb, after which, the team’s management has chosen not to take any chances.
“With a series at home against South Africa, we did not want to take chances with Babar,” said a team official.
Team Doctor Dr. Sohail Saleem: “We have seen an improvement in Babar Azam’s injury, but he has not fully recovered yet. He is our captain and the most important hitter in the lineup, so we don’t want to take any chances.” .
“The medical team is constantly reviewing his injury and we are hopeful that he will be available for the home series against South Africa.”
Squad: Mohammad Rizwan (captain, goalkeeper), Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah and Zafar Gohar.
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