LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) team doctor, Dr Sohail Saleem, has refused to travel to Australia due to personal reasons, sources reported on Sunday.
Dr Sohail will not be travelling to Australia as his father, who is a cancer patient, is seriously ill. He has already informed the PCB about his decision.
He couldn’t travel with the team due to some visa issues but he was scheduled to travel on Sunday and join the team in Perth as the team prepared for the first Test.
The PCB is now evaluating its options and is finding a substitute doctor. The option of acquiring a local doctor’s services is also under consideration.
It must be noted that Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed is likely to miss the Perth Test as a safety precaution.
Abrar bowled a total of 27 overs during the four-day practice match against the PM XI where he also picked up a wicket. At the end of the third day, he complained about feeling some discomfort in his right leg for which the MRI was done.
Although the extent of the spinner’s injury isn’t serious, the team doesn’t want to risk him as he is considered one of Pakistan’s most important weapons in red-ball cricket.
It must be noted that this is Pakistan’s first Test tour to Australia since 2019 when they were battered 2-0 as the Green Shirts, under Azhar Ali’s captaincy, lost both games by an innings.
Pakistan have also never won a Test series in Australia in their entire history.
Australia tour schedule
1st Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 14-18: Perth Stadium
2nd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 26-30: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
3rd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – January 3-7: Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)
Squads
Australia: (first Test only): Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner
Pakistan: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.