Recovering from a thumb injury, Pakistan captain Babar Azam could miss the opening Test against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui beginning December 26.
Babar, who has been Pakistan's top run-scorer across all three formats since last year, suffered a fracture in his thumb during a throw-down session in Queenstown on December 12 which ruled him out of the three-match T20 series.
“Babar is under rehab and has done some light training but whether he will be 100 percent match fit in time for the first test is a long shot,” a source aware of the developments in New Zealand said.
Babar has also been given a 12-day rehab and rest period to be fit again but the source said the Pakistan captain’s injury was taking time to heal and he was still unable to hold a bat properly.