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CAPE TOWN: A number of Pakistan players are carrying niggling injuries on the eve of the second cricket Test against South Africa which begins here on Thursday.
While opener Nasir Jamshed, who made his debut in the first Test at Johannesburg, twisted his ankle at the nets on Saturday, fast bowler Junaid Khan is recovering from a side strain that was caused by his collision with a door in the hotel lobby late on Friday.
Both the players are responding well to the treatment and manager Naveed Akram Cheema expressed confidence that they will make the playing XI for the second Test.
On Monday, wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed survived a scare when he sustained a severe blow on the nose off a Saeed Ajmal delivery in the two-day practice match here against Emerging Cape Cobras that Pakistan won by ten wickets.
Sarfraz was immediately rushed for treatment and reports from the Pakistan camp late in the evening said the young wicket-keeper will be fit for the Test.
Meanwhile, tall pacer Mohammad Irfan is all set for Test debut here after he snapped up seven wickets in the practice game in an impressive exhibition of hostile fast bowling.
Irfan, using his height and pace to full advantage on a responsive track, troubled all the opposition batsmen and was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers.
