Pakistan have suffered a significant blow after Saim Ayub was ruled out for “up to six weeks” with a right ankle fracture, sustained during the first morning of the Test in Cape Town.
The diagnosis rules him out of Pakistan’s two Test matches against the West Indies later this month, as well as a tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand at home in February. It also means he is in a race against time to be fit for the Champions Trophy, which begins in Karachi in just over six weeks.
The PCB said an MRI scan conducted on Friday “confirmed the fracture, which has been immobilised in an ankle medical moon boot”. Ayub will remain with the team until the end of the Test.
Ayub had to be stretchered off the pitch in just the seventh over of the match, when Ryan Rickelton edged a delivery through the slips, sending Ayub off on a chase to deep third alongside Aamer Jamal. Jamal pulled it back in as Ayub stood poised to be the relay fielder, but lost his balance and twisted his ankle. He went down immediately and appeared in anguish holding the lower part of his leg as the physio rushed on.
Despite prolonged treatment outside the boundary line, Ayub was unable to put any weight on his right ankle, and appeared to be in tears as he was placed on to a stretcher and taken off. He was later seen on crutches in the medical boot.
The last few months have seen Ayub establish him as an all-format star for Pakistan, playing crucial roles in ODI series wins away in Australia, Zimbabwe as well as here in South Africa, where two hundreds in three matches saw him named the Player of the Series.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
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