Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has been ruled out of the Boxing Day Test match against New Zealand while Imran Butt has been named in Pakistan’s 17-member squad. Other than him Imam-ul-Haq has also been sidelined due to an injury he picked up during a training session.
Babar had fractured his right thumb during a practice session which ruled him out of the T20 series as well. The medical team is looking closely on his recovery.
The wicket-keeper batsmen Muhammad Rizwan will lead the side on Saturday. Imran Butt has been named in the Test side for the first time. He was the top-run scorer in the last season of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. The right-handed batsmen amassed 934 runs at a healthy average of 62. It will be interesting to see whether he gets a chance in the playing eleven.
Squad for first test
Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan and Yasir Shah.
