BRISBANE: Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad has been cleared to play in the team's third World Cup Pool B game against Zimbabwe after suffering an ankle injury, an official said Friday.

The 23-year-old right-hander was sent for an MRI scan after team practice in Brisbane, complaining of pain in his left ankle, but a spokesman said Shehzad will be fit for Sunday's game.

“Shehzad had tendonitis so we sent him for an MRI which is clear and he will be available for the Zimbabwe match,” the team spokesman said.

Shehzad scored 47 in the opening defeat against India but managed just one in Pakistan's 150-run thrashing at the hands of the West Indies in Christchurch last Saturday.

Pakistan need a win to bolster their chances of reaching the quarter-finals and are currently bottom of Pool B. But the Greenshirts cannot afford to take 'tournament minnows' Zimbabwe for granted.

Zimbabwe has put up promising performances so far, going down by just 62 runs in reply to South Africa’s mammoth 339 and losing the contest by 73 runs in pursuit of West Indies' 362 (D/L method revised total).

They registered their first points on the table by claiming a four-wicket victory against the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

With former Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore at the helm, Zimbabwe will be looking to inflict more pain on Misbah-ul-Haq's side, which lost both of its matches comprehensively to India and West Indies, on Sunday.

Though Pakistan is considered a far better side than Zimbabwe, there is an interesting fact which would worry Misbah and co: Zimbabwe — in all three of its previous innings — managed to pile up 250 or more runs, while Pakistan has failed to go beyond 250 so far.