The Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is in a race against time to recover from injury to make it to the squad for the two-match Test series against the West Indies next month.
Rizwan is currently training in Pakistan’s red-ball training camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) that started on June 8 and will run till July 10.
It is reported, however, that the veteran wicket-keeper arrived at the camp a week later than his schedule as the PCB did not consider him fit and he has since been undergoing rehabilitation under the supervision of the PCB medical team.
This has made it difficult for Rizwan to engage in regular training and practice sessions.
The next major test for his fitness will be a final assessment by the PCB medical team on July 6, which will help determine if he’s ready to accompany the team to the Caribbean.
Pakistan will be heading to West Indies on July 13. The team will have a four-day warm up game before the Test series to get ready for the difficult tour ahead. The warm-up match begins on July 18.
Rizwan will have to be fit if he wants to be part of the squad, but if he is not fit in time, then wicketkeepers Ghazi Ghori and Rohail Nazir are likely to be considered as replacement options for the test squad.
With Rizwan’s name on the injured list, Pakistan will be facing a huge blow as the batsman has performed well for Pakistan in Test cricket.
He has now scored 1,157 runs in his 15 career Tests, which include one century and nine half-centuries, and he is Pakistan’s top run-scorer in the format over the last 15 Tests.
The two-match Test series is set to be played in Trinidad and Tobago, with the first Test set for July 25 to 29, and the second Test on August 2 to 6.
