Ahead of the third Test match against England, Pakistan suffered a major setback as young pace sensation Naseem Shah was ruled out of the final game of the series. The 19-year-old has been sidelined with a shoulder injury. He sustained a niggle in the opening Test and subsequently had to miss the second game of the series.
"A niggle in the bowling shoulder has ruled out Naseem Shah for the third and final test,” the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement on December 13 (Tuesday).
The PCB said Naseem's injury will now be further assessed at the National High-Performance Center in Lahore before he will start his rehabilitation.
Injuries to key fast bowlers have contributed to Pakistan trailing 2-0 in the three-match series — England's first test tour of Pakistan in 17 years. The third test begins at Karachi from Saturday.
Pakistan lost the first test by 74 runs in dimming light on the last day before England recorded a thrilling 26-run win in Multan.
Naseem's injury is the third blow to Pakistan for the series. Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was ruled out due to a knee injury while paceman Haris Rauf pulled up with a thigh injury during his test debut at Rawalpindi and was also ruled out from the remainder of the series.
The Pakistan team management has not yet asked for Naseem's replacement for the final test. Pakistan has uncapped fast bowler Mohammad Wasim in the 16-man squad, but went with just one specialist seamer — Mohammad Ali — in the second test and bowling allrounder Faheem Ashraf shared the new ball.
(With agency inputs)
