All-rounder Muhammad Hafeez has been declared fit to play in the upcoming Test series against Australia after going through batting, bowling and fielding sessions for the past three days at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
After the batting session yesterday, Dr Sohail Saleem – who is the General Manager Sports Medicine of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) – declared Hafeez ‘ready to play’ with one proviso; while bowling and fielding, Hafeez has been advised to wear a support for the next few days.
Hafeez suffered a deep laceration to the base of his left thumb while fielding during a warm-up 50-over match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 3, damaging the webbing between the left thumb and the index finger. The wound required five stitches and Hafeez was sent back from the UAE to the NCA for recovery, forcing him to sit out the ODI series that Pakistan lost 3-0.
Hafeez, who retained his position as the world’s best ODI all-rounder, was particularly missed in the one-day series against Australia as Pakistan’s brittle batting line-up was brutally slaughtered by the Australians.