Zulqarnain Haider injury opens door for Kamran Akmal
Novice Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider will miss the remainder of the current Test series against England, leaving the door open for dumped gloveman Kamran Akmal to rejoin the playing XI.
Haider sustained a hairline fracture to the little finger of his right hand while playing in the Edgbaston Test. The 24-year-old was a key figure in Pakistan’s stubborn second innings in Birmingham, his 88 runs and involvement in two crucial partnerships conspiring to frustrate Andrew Strauss’ side on day three of the match as the visitors refused to budge from the crease.
Haider was also on the receiving end of Stuart Broad’s reckless decision to throw the ball at the batsman at the end of the 63rd over of Pakistan’s second innings, a moment of madness that cost the England seamer half of his match fee.
The immediate prognosis is not good for Haider, who made a promising start to his Test career in his debut match, and that’s a situation that puts Kamran back in the selection frame for the third Test of the series, which begins at The Oval on Wednesday.
With their backs against the wall already, the last thing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 will need behind the stumps is a repeat of the sloppy keeping that resulted in Kamran’s axing from the team after the opening Test of the series at Trent Bridge.
Dropped catches and a missed stumping made for a nightmare Test for Kamran, and it was difficult to avoid flashbacks to a similarly inept showing by the keeper against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in Sydney this year, when he dropped Michael Hussey three times and effectively allowed the batsman to build a match-winning 134-run innings for the home side.
Circumstances may conspire to ensure Kamran’s absence from the Test XI is brief, but given Haider’s solid start to his Test career, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that even if Kamran plays out the remainder of this series with the gloves, his Test career may still be on borrowed time.
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