Pakistan have witnessed a major setback ahead of the Test series against West Indies as Younis Khan has been ruled out of the first Test against West Indies in Dubai. The two teams will once again lock horns for a three-match Test series, which starts on Thursday.
The former Pakistan captain will thus miss one of the historic dates in Pakistan cricket, as the Men in Green will be making their pink ball debut.
It was in September that the batsman was down with high temperature. Younis was diagnosed with dengue and was treated in a Karachi hospital. As a result of this, the player also missed some domestic cricket action.
Doctors have advised him a rest of around 10 days to get back to fitness after recovering from the disease. Younis has communicated to the Pakistan Cricket Board and chief selector Inzamam-Ul-Haq about his unavailability for the first Test.
"Younis has informed chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq that he won't able to play the first Test," ESPN Cricinfo quoted PCB spokesperson as saying.
"The selectors are yet to announce the squad, but its is confirmed that Younis will not take part in the opening game in Dubai. He asked for rest to be fully fit before his national selection since he has recently recovered from dengue."
Younis is one of Pakistan's consistent batsmen in Test cricket, and they need to find a perfect replacement for the batsman in the first Test. After having showed some impeccable form in the ODI series against West Indies, Babar Azam, who has not played a single Test match for Pakistan but has scored three centuries on a trot, could be solid replacement for Younis.
Irrespective of Younis' replacement, Pakistan will go into the first Test as a confident unit, and also be favourites to win the Test series unless West Indies improve by leaps and bounds in the longer format.
