Wahab Riaz provides update on Naseem Shah, Ihsanullah and Hasnain

The newly appointed Chief Selector and former pacer, Wahab Riaz, has shed light on the current fitness status of crucial Pakistan pacers – Naseem Shah, Ihsanullah, and Mohammad Hasnain.

Ihsanullah, who has featured for Pakistan in one ODI and four T20Is, suffered an elbow injury. The 20-year-old has been ruled out from international cricket since playing for Pakistan in the ODI series against New Zealand at home this year in April.

23-year-old Hasnain sustained an ankle injury while playing in the Sri Lanka Premier League in August. He traveled to England from Sri Lanka and had an MRI. The scans revealed the fast bowler requires rehabilitation for his ankle, which is under process since 13 September in England.

20-year-old Naseem got injured during Asia Cup, ruling him out of the ICC World Cup 2023. Following the injury, the fast bowler underwent shoulder surgery earlier last week. During the operation, he remained absolutely stable and was discharged from the hospital the next day.

Addressing the concerned cricket fans, Wahab provided a ray of hope regarding Naseem Shah's recovery and an update on other injured pacers.

"Naseem Shah will hopefully be able to bowl at 50-60% after 3 weeks. Mohammad Hasnain has started running and sprinting. He has started bowling last week but he'll need two weeks to build up his workload. Ihsanullah continues to undergo rehab," Wahab said.

Pakistan squad for Australia Tests: Shan Masood (captain), 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

Australia tour schedule:
Four-day match: PM’s XI vs Pakistan – December 6-9: Manuka Oval, Canberra
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)