Pakistan's tall left arm pacer Muhammad Irfan has been ruled out of the Asia Cup and World T20 Cup due to a injury he sustained while fielding during the ongoing national T20 championship.
As selectors are due to announce the national squads for the forthcoming events in Bangladesh, Irfan had been advised rest for at least three months to recover from his injury, a source in the Pakistan board told PTI.
"He again suffered a hip fracture while fielding for Multan in the national T20 event. He is in pain and is undergoing treatment. But the selectors have been told not to take a risk with him," the source said.
According to the source, Irfan suffered a fracture in the same place where he sustained a fracture earlier, as he slipped while bowling during the T20 match against South Africa in Dubai three months back.
That injury had ruled him out of cricket for a while and he only resumed playing recently in domestic cricket.
The selectors are also due to consider whether to risk picking experienced pacer Umar Gul for the Asia Cup or wait till the World T20 Cup.
"Gul has also taken time to recover from his knee surgery and they are still doubts over the fact whether he is match fit for international cricket," the source said.
Gul had to be sent home from the UAE last month after playing just three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka.
The source said the selectors were also considering whether to give batsman Umar Gul the dual responsibility of wicketkeeping and batting in the coming tournaments or to pick a specialist wicketkeeper.
Captain Misbah-ul-Haq wants the experienced Kamran Akmal to be recalled to the side in place of young opener, Sharjeel Khan so that he can also keep wickets, but head coach Moin Khan believes that wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed deserves to be given a proper run in both events after his impressive performances in the test series against Sri Lanka where he was rushed as a replacement for the injured Adnan Akmal, the source added.
