Karachi, Aug 6 (IANS) Pakistan cricket team is struggling with injury problems and will find it difficult to put up a balanced combination for the one-off Twenty International against Sri Lanka in Colombo Aug 12.
The Twenty20 champions could end up with only 12 fit players for the match that will be a repeat of the ICC World T20 championship final at Lord’s this June.
Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam said that the team management has decided against requesting for any replacements and will try to form a winning combination from within the available players for the Twenty20 game.
The tourists have been hit hard by fitness-related problems during what has been quite an awful tour of Sri Lanka. Pakistan lost the three-match Test series 0-2 against the Sri Lankans last month and are 0-3 down in the five-match One-day international series.
Pakistan also lost a warm-up match played last month against a local side which means that they are so far winless during the tour that came just days after the conclusion of their triumphant campaign in the ICC World Twenty20 in England.
Pakistan’s woes have worsened after several of their players got injured during the tour. Pace spearhead Umar Gul was the first big casualty as he suffered an ankle injury that has ruled him out of the rest of the series.
Vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been unable to play in the series because of poor form and also because his sugar-levels went down alarmingly earlier this week. The experienced batsman has been advised rest by doctors.
Also on the injury list is seasoned all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, who is currently nursing a calf injury and is unlikely to play in the last two One-dayers.
To add to Pakistan’s problems, captain Younis Khan is also scheduled to fly back home after the final ODI Aug 9 as he has retired from the shortest version of the game. Senior all-rounder Shahid Afridi will lead Pakistan in that game.
This means that there is a big possibility that out of the 16-man touring party, the Pakistan management will have just 12 players to chose from for the Twenty20 clash.
When contacted here Thursday, Pakistan chief selector Iqbal Qasim ruled out sending any replacements for the injured players to Sri Lanka. He told IANS that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided against picking any new players for the tour.
Experts fear that Pakistan may face problems in coming out with a balanced squad for the ICC Champions Trophy because of the long injury list. The Champions Trophy is scheduled to begin in South Africa in September. Pakistan is scheduled to announce its 15-man squad for the elite eight-nation event by Aug 23.