Abrar Ahmed ruled out of first Australia Test

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Sunday that spinner Abrar Ahmed has been ruled out of the first Test against Australia which begins in Perth from December 14.

In a press release, the cricket board said that during the warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI, Abrar had left the field due to “severe pain in his right leg around his knee”.

ESPNcricinfo reported that on day three of the warm-up match, Abrar went off the field after bowling 27 overs, in which he conceded 80 runs and took the wicket of Marcus Harris.

“During an assessment by the medical team, a provisional diagnosis was made — justifying an MRI scan, which was done on the same day,” the cricket board said.

It added that Abrar would “undergo an intervention in Perth on Monday, after which conservative rehabilitation under the supervision of the team’s medical staff, will continue his road to recovery”.

“He has not been ruled out of the Test series yet, but keeping the player’s well-being in mind for this and future tours, further assessment before the second Test will ascertain his availability on this tour,” the PCB said.

It said that chief selector Wahab Riaz, on the request made by the team management, had approved the name of off-spinner Sajid Khan, who would travel to Perth once his travel arrangements were finalised.