Abdullah Fazal ruled out of West Indies Tests and England tour with back injury

TAROUBA: Pakistan opener Abdullah Fazal has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against the West Indies after suffering a back injury during training ahead of the first match, which is scheduled to start on Saturday.

The 23-year-old left-hander sustained a lower-back injury during Pakistan’s practice session at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, the venue for the opening Test that will run until July 29. He subsequently underwent an MRI scan and was advised to begin rehabilitation.

The Pakistan Cricket Board said Fazal has been declared unfit not only for the West Indies series but also for Pakistan’s subsequent Test tour of England, which consists of three matches and is scheduled to take place from August 19 to September 3. The board added that his replacement for both assignments will be announced later.

His absence is a setback for the touring side after he made useful contributions in Pakistan’s four-day warm-up fixture against the West Indies Select XI at the Queen’s Park Cricket Club in Port of Spain. In that match, Fazal remained unbeaten in both innings, scoring 50 and 48.

Fazal has played two Tests for Pakistan so far, both during the away series against Bangladesh in May. Across those appearances, he has scored 141 runs at an average of 35.25, including two half-centuries.

Pakistan squad for West Indies Tests

The updated Pakistan squad for the West Indies Test series comprises Babar Azam (captain), Aamir Jamal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.