Pakistan’s injury woes have worsened with opener Imam-ul-Haq being ruled out of the third and final Test against England starting in Karachi on Saturday. The 26-year-old’s hamstring injury aggravated on Friday, making it difficult for Pakistan to avoid a 3-0 whitewash in the first home Test.
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Experienced batsman Azhar Ali is likely to replace Haque, who announced that this would be his last Test.
The bespectacled left-hander made 60 batting at number five in the second Test in Multan, which Pakistan lost by 26 runs.
Captain Babar Azam said on Friday, “Imam has a hamstring problem, so he will not play tomorrow’s match.”
Azam said injuries had cost Pakistan dearly in the series.
They lost fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi ahead of the series with a knee injury and Haris Rauf damaged his quadriceps muscle in the first Test in Rawalpindi.
Another fast bowler, Naseem Shah, failed to recover from the shoulder strain that ruled him out of the second Test, which also ruled him out of the final match.
“We have played non-stop cricket and there was no rest, that’s why we are getting so many injuries,” Azam said on the eve of the Karachi tie against England, brimming with confidence.
He said, it is not that we are relaxed about fitness, but we have to solve the problems related to fitness. If we are going to play consistent cricket, we have to plan accordingly.”
Azam is hopeful that the pitch in Karachi will help the spinners.
“The wicket looks dry and it is a normal Karachi pitch,” he said.
“We will try to give a good result for ourselves. We made mistakes and the matches are in our hands, so we should not repeat them.”
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Wasim Junior is likely to make his Test debut in place of Mohammad Ali, who kept wicket in the Multan Test.
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