LONDON: Pakistani leg spinner Shadab Khan has cleared a sample medical test, sources told Geo News on Monday, but his hopes of playing his first World Cup rest on the results of another medical examination expected later this week.
The 20-year-old has played 34 one-day internationals for Pakistan and was included in the country's 15-man squad for the May 30-July 14 World Cup in England and Wales.
But the spinner suffered a setback when he was ruled out of the limited-overs series in England with an illness and asked to return to Islamabad from London after "tests revealed a virus that will require treatment and rest for, at least, four weeks," the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement late last month.
Sources familiar with the matter told Geo News that the all-rounder had contracted hepatitis C, which required him to undergo treatment and rest for two weeks, at a minimum. They said that the spinner contracted the virus during a visit to a dentist in Rawalpindi, where he contracted hepatitis C from contact with unsterilised dental tools.
Shadab was subsequently put on medication after his return and advised complete rest for two weeks, following which was scheduled to undergo a round of blood test.
According to latest reports, Shadab has now cleared on sample test, but the fate of his World Cup dreams depend on yet another medical test, the results of which are expected to be released on Tuesday.
The PCB management and team officials are expected to decide further on the young spinner's availability for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 based on the results of the medical test, sources said.