Babar Azam missed the entire T20I series against New Zealand, which concludes on Tuesday, after suffering the injury when facing throw-downs in training in the lead-up to the series.
The Pakistan captain will also be joined on the sidelines by opener Imam-ul-Haq who hasn’t recovered from injury either.
“Babar had fractured his right thumb a day after Imam had fractured his left thumb during training sessions in Queenstown last week,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.
“Both are yet to return to nets with the teams medical staff closely monitoring their progress.”
Mohammad Rizwan will skipper the tourists in Babar’s absence, while Imran Butt has been called into the 17-man Test squad for the two-match series.
Pakistan coach Misbah-ul-Haq said the Test match had come too soon for Babar.
“Although it will be nearly two weeks to Babar’s injury when the first Test starts, it will be hard on him and the team to play him without any net sessions,” Misbah said.
Misbah added that he was bullish about the Test side’s prospects against the Black Caps, despite their struggles in the T20I series.
It is disappointing to lose the T20I series against a well-settled New Zealand side, who utilised their resources and conditions to their advantage,” he said.
“We need to up skill and improve our individual and team performances, including in Tuesdays match, and the sooner we get these sorted the better it will be in term of player confidences and team results as 2021 will not be any easier as we have two major events.
Contrary to the T20I side, the Test side appears to be pretty organised and we boast some experienced cricketers, both in batting and bowling departments. With some competitive cricket on the tour now under the belt, I am hoping we will be a better outfit in the longer version of the game.
“I remain confident and optimistic that other players will rise to the occasion in Mount Maunganui and use the opportunity to rise to the occasion and put the disappointment of the T20I series behind them.”