Pakistan double-century hero Azhar Ali, felled by a sickening blow to the head in the field on Thursday, has been cleared of concussion.
Australian team doctor Peter Brukner put Azhar through a test after he was hit flush in the top of the helmet by a Matthew Wade pull shot as he fielded at short leg on day four at the MCG. The bowler at the time was leg-spinner Yasir Shah.
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Azhar receives nasty close-in blow at MCG
Pakistan's double-centurion Azhar Ali is forced off the MCG after being hit on the helmet from a powerful Matthew Wade pull shot during the second session.
Azhar's teammates and the team physiotherapist rushed to him as he lay on the field. Play was temporarily stopped but Azhar was able to walk from the field with a broken helmet.
Pakistan bowling coach Azhar Mahmood said Azhar had been cleared to return to play on Friday.
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"He is fine," Mahmood said after play on Thursday.
Concussion has become a growing issue in cricket, with Cricket Australia - like all governing bodies  - strengthening its rules.Â
Wade's shot had ricocheted off Azhar to Babar Azam, who caught it on the full, but Wade was not out as cricket's rules currently say a batsman cannot be dismissed if the ball has rebounded off a protective helmet. But that may change if a recommendation from the MCC's world cricket committee is endorsed, calling for catches and stumpings to be allowed if the ball has hit a helmet worn by a fielder.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who is part of the MCC world cricket committee, said this month it was time to have greater consistency in terms of dismissals when a ball has hit protective equipment.
"Wicketkeepers wear pads on the outside of their legs, which is an optional form of protection. We felt that it was not really different from a close-in fielder wearing a helmet," he said.
"A lot of the associations are now making it compulsory for the close-in fielders to wear helmets. Just to keep in line with other protective equipment on other fielders on the ground, we felt that was the right way to go."
It has also emerged Yasir and Azhar had undergone routine anti-doping tests on Wednesday by the International Cricket Council, with results to be released in a fortnight.Â
Yasir was charged in December 2015Â with an anti-doping rule violation after he tested positive for a prohibited substance. He was handed a three-month suspension by the ICC after he pleaded guilty to breaching the ICC's anti-doping code.