Shaharyar confident pace battery will shine
June 28, 2006
KARACHI: National cricket chief Shaharyar Khan on Tuesday put his faith in Pakistan’s young pacers saying that they have the guts to guide the national team to glory in England this summer.
“We might have to do without our leading pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in England which is a disappointment but I must say that we have a lot of hope in our young bowlers. They can help us win,” he said.
Pakistan have already left for England without the injured Shoaib and Rana and there are fears that the injured duo might not play any role in the four-match Test series against England.
“We are expecting a lot from bowlers like Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir and Mohammad Sami. They are top-class and attacking bowlers and should perform well against England,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rana would get to know about his chances to play on the England tour after another round of tests to be carried out in London today (Wednesday).
Shaharyar told reporters here at the National Stadium that Rana would be examined by a leading specialist for groin injuries after which it would become clear whether he could play for Pakistan in England this summer. “Rana would know about his fate tomorrow,” said Shaharyar, adding that the Board has hired Professor Gilmore to treat Rana to assure that the pacer manages a speedy recovery. “Gilmore is the doctor who discovered this injury that is known as Gilmore’s groin. Rana is suspected to have it so the specialist surely has the best credentials to treat it.”
Shaharyar said fears are that Rana will have to undergo surgery that would rule him out of international cricket for two months. “We are praying that the injury heals without a surgery because in that case he (Rana) would be able to join the team at the later stage of the (England) tour.”
Rana suffered from a groin injury while playing a county game for Sussex last month.
Shaharyar stated that injured speedster Shoaib Akhtar would be examined by the PCB medical commission later this month in a bid to check whether the player is recovering fast enough from a recurring ankle stress fracture. “There would be more scans and x-rays after which we would know how much Shoaib has recovered,” he said.
“We might have to do without our leading pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in England which is a disappointment but I must say that we have a lot of hope in our young bowlers. They can help us win,” he said.
Pakistan have already left for England without the injured Shoaib and Rana and there are fears that the injured duo might not play any role in the four-match Test series against England.
“We are expecting a lot from bowlers like Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir and Mohammad Sami. They are top-class and attacking bowlers and should perform well against England,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rana would get to know about his chances to play on the England tour after another round of tests to be carried out in London today (Wednesday).
Shaharyar told reporters here at the National Stadium that Rana would be examined by a leading specialist for groin injuries after which it would become clear whether he could play for Pakistan in England this summer. “Rana would know about his fate tomorrow,” said Shaharyar, adding that the Board has hired Professor Gilmore to treat Rana to assure that the pacer manages a speedy recovery. “Gilmore is the doctor who discovered this injury that is known as Gilmore’s groin. Rana is suspected to have it so the specialist surely has the best credentials to treat it.”
Shaharyar said fears are that Rana will have to undergo surgery that would rule him out of international cricket for two months. “We are praying that the injury heals without a surgery because in that case he (Rana) would be able to join the team at the later stage of the (England) tour.”
Rana suffered from a groin injury while playing a county game for Sussex last month.
Shaharyar stated that injured speedster Shoaib Akhtar would be examined by the PCB medical commission later this month in a bid to check whether the player is recovering fast enough from a recurring ankle stress fracture. “There would be more scans and x-rays after which we would know how much Shoaib has recovered,” he said.
