LAHORE: Pakistan yesterday pulled fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar out of next month’s World Twenty20 tournament in England due to injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board said.
The 33-year-old missed last week’s conditioning camp in a luxury Pakistani hill resort due to injuries on his groin and his omission had been widely expected after he missed the first of three practice matches here Wednesday.
“We have pulled him out of the World Twenty20 on the basis of a medical report given by our doctor which said that Akhtar needs 10 days to recover from groin wounds,” the PCB said.
“The medical board has reported that Akhtar was suffering from genital viral warts,” it said in a statement, adding that he would need another 10 days of care and treatment.
Akhtar becomes the first casualty of the 12-team event for which final 15-man squads were announced on May 5.
The PCB said it had written to the technical committee of the World Twenty20 for the right to name a replacement after the fast bowler’s fitness was assessed by a three-man panel yesterday.
Coach Intikhab Alam backed Akhtar’s omission on fitness grounds.
“We can’t keep a half-fit player for a major event,” Alam told reporters.
“He has not done any training for the last 15-20 days and missed last week’s camp. His performance is for all to judge to his form, so we had to take this decision and fortunately it happened before the event started,” said Alam.
Akhtar is likely to be replaced by paceman Rao Iftikhar for the second edition of the World Twenty20 which starts in England from June 5.
“We have sent Iftikhar’s name as replacement and he attended the camp and is in good shape,” said Alam.
Asked whether Akhtar’s troubled career was over, Alam said it was up to the bowler to work on his form.
PCB to attend World Cup meeting
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council will meet with the heads of the four World Cup 2011 co-hosts — including Pakistan — next month in an effort to find a mutually acceptable solution after Pakistan was barred from hosting matches due to security concerns, the Pakistan Cricket Board said yesterday.
“ICC has scheduled a meeting in Dubai on June 3 to discuss the World Cup 2011 matters in which PCB is also invited. PCB has confirmed its attendance at this meeting,” the PCB said.
The PCB has already sent a legal notice to the ICC after it ruled that Pakistan would not be allowed to stage World Cup matches because of ongoing security concerns.
PCB chief Ijaz Butt returned home Wednesday after meeting with officials of Sri Lanka Cricket and Board of Control for Cricket in India to find a solution to the World Cup dispute with the ICC.
He described his meeting with BCCI chief Sharad Pawar as fruitful and hoped some solution will come up in the Dubai meeting.
“I had very detailed discussions with Pawar and the meeting went well,” Butt said.
“We decided some solution has to be worked out and we will have an out of court discussion in Dubai. David Morgan (ICC chairman), Pawar and the heads of SLC and Bangladesh Cricket Board will all be there as we discuss the situation and work toward a solution.” One possible solution could be to explore the possibility of Pakistan organizing its share of World Cup matches at a neutral venue in the United Arab Emirates.
“We will, as per the agreement we have all signed, submit a satisfactory security plan to the ICC for games in Pakistan,” Butt said.
“Should that plan not be satisfactory then we will put forward a proposal for a neutral venue, be that in the Middle East or Kuala Lumpur. That process and procedure is part of the hosting agreement that we all signed.”
