Zulqarnain Haider’s Injury Hits Pakistan Cricket Hard Ahead of Third Test Against England
It seems that Kamran Akmal is destined to stay behind the stumps in Pakistan colours, as after being out of reckoning for one Test match only, the keeper is back in contention for the third Test match of the Pakistan-England series.
Akmal, who was dropped after a horror show in the first Test where he dropped at least three crucial catches, is set to resume his Test career after the man who replaced him in the match suffered a finger injury.
Zulqarnain Haider was http://www.senore.com/Cricket/A-King-c41197’s pair in the match.
However, the injury that he suffered on the eve of the second Test match at Headingley, Leeds, resurfaced after the second test at Birmingham, jeopardizing his chances of appearing in any remaining match of the series.
According to an official statement, “Preliminary tests have confirmed that Haider has a hairline fracture. Further tests have been scheduled on Tuesday after which a final decision will be taken on his further participation on the tour.”
Zulqarnain would undergo a fitness test in a couple of days' time, which will reveal if he is fit enough to take part in the third Test that is set to start on the 18th of this month at the Oval in London.
There are conflicting reports about the extent of the injury, with one team source already remarking that his tour is as good as over, while another claims that he can still appear in the third Test if he gets the all clear from the team specialist.
If the injury turns out to be as serious as first thought, the 24 year old will be ruled out of the remaining Tests as well as the limited overs series that comprises of two Twenty20 and five One-Day International matches.
While the tour management mulls over his immediate future, a team source revealed that the Lahore born wicketkeeper is bitterly disappointed at the injury which has put on halt an encouraging start to his Test career.
His 88 run knock is the highest by any Pakistani batsman in the series, and with a solitary innings he went on the top of the list of the highest run getters in the series from Pakistan, which underlines the wretched state of the visiting batting line-up that has failed to cope with the swing and pace extracted by the English seamers in the opening two matches of the series.
On the other hand, it means that the beleaguered Kamran Akmal gets another chance of redeeming a fledgling Test career, especially his keeping form that has been extremely sluggish in the Test series, with his glove work letting the team down miserably at Trent Bridge in the first Test of the series.
Akmal’s batting form has been extremely ordinary also, and the right-handed stroke maker averages a mere 17 runs with the bat in Test matches in England, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757.
At this rate, he needs a big performance in the last two matches of the England series if he wants to prolong his Test career.
Once Zulqarnain recovers from his injury, he would be the first choice to keep wickets especially in the longest format of the game, but in the Twenty20 and ODI formats, Kamran is a proven performer and his form with the bat has improved considerably there.
The right-hander now needs to ensure that he delivers in the last two Tests, as the struggling Pakistani team can ill afford another shoddy performance by their wicketkeeper.
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