Pakistan’s leg spinner Abrar Ahmed will not play in the opening Test match against Australia; Sajid Khan will start in his place.

Abrar Ahmed withdrawal from the first Test match against Australia, which is scheduled to start on Thursday, is a major blow for Team Pakistan. Significantly, the wily leg spinner sustained a knee injury in Canberra during the warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI. Consequently, several questions have been raised regarding Ahmed’s ability to play in the remaining Test matches.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Abrar’s injury status shortly after it occurred. The leg spinner will stay with the team in Perth and receive more treatment, the PCB stated. Furthermore, any decision pertaining to Abrar Ahmed will be made following an evaluation completed prior to the “Boxing Day” Test. Before the first Test, Pakistan has called up the skilled off-spinner Sajid Khan to join the Test team in Ahmed’s place.

The press release stated, “He has not been ruled out of the Test series yet, but further assessment before the second Test will ascertain his availability on this tour, keeping the player’s wellbeing in mind for this and future tours.”

On the third day of the warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI, Abrar Ahmed hurt his right knee.

About the warm-up match in Canberra, leg spinner Abrar Ahmed bowled 27 overs against the Prime Minister’s XI before getting hurt on day three of the match in his right leg. He was then whisked away for an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. With just six Test matches under his belt, the wily leg spinner has already claimed 38 scalps.

Off-spinner Sajid Khan, meanwhile, last competed for Pakistan in March 2022. He is scheduled to travel to Australia. Khan has appeared in seven tests thus far, and he has claimed the lives of twenty-two people. He has been in very decent form with the ball, as evidenced by the 18 wickets he took from the six games he participated in during the recently finished domestic level competitions. It remains to be seen if Pakistan will be without Abrar Ahmed for the opening Test match against Australia.