Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan has been advised complete rest and prescribed two weeks of medication in order to recover from the virus which ruled him out of the upcoming ODI series against England.
The young leggie had been originally named in the 15-man squad for the five ODIs against England but was subsequently ruled out after being struck by a virus. Following the development, Shadab was flown to England by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to see a London-based gastroenterology and hepatology specialist.
The wrist-spinner will now fly back to Islamabad on Monday and will be required to undergo a further round of blood tests once he completes his two weeks of rest. The PCB hope to have a clearer picture on Shadab’s fitness for the 2019 ICC World Cup once the results of those blood tests are revealed.
Shadab is Pakistan’s leading white-ball spinner
The 20-year-old had earlier been named in Pakistan’s 15-man preliminary World Cup squad as well and the team management now faces an anxious wait. Shadab has been excellent for Pakistan in the limited-overs formats ever since he made his international debut in 2017.
In 34 ODIs and 32 T20Is for Pakistan so far, the leg-spinner has picked up 47 and 44 wickets respectively. If Shadab is unable to recover in time for the World Cup, Pakistan could be forced to go with senior spinner Yasir Shah who has replaced him in the squad for the England ODI series.
Pakistan recorded a 100-run win in their first tour game against Kent on Saturday but Yasir had an expensive outing with figures of 3-90 from his 10 overs.
