The in-form Pakistan team has received a body blow as their main bowling weapon Mohammad Irfan has been ruled out of the World Cup due a stress fracture in his pelvis.
Irfan was being regarded as the most lethal bowler on bouncy pitches of Australia and he was seen as the key figure for Pakistan ahead of their quarter-final against co-hosts Australia.
According to the reports from Pakistani camp, the Australia media was portraying Irfan as the real threat and there was psychological pressure on the Australians.
The soaring 7’1 pacer had an MRI test on Monday and the radiologist’s report on Tuesday showed a stress injury of the pelvis but was inconclusive.
“Pakistan physiotherapist Brad Robinson ordered a more detailed scan, which was carried out Tuesday afternoon, and it reconfirmed an obvious stress fracture in the pelvis,” the PCB press release read.
“This injury rules Irfan out of the World Cup”, said Brad Robinson.
The Pakistan think tank is not immediately asking the selection committee back home for a replacement, but shall wait until the result of Friday’s quarterfinal encounter against Australia to do so.
Meanwhile, former cricketer Ramiz Raja said that Pakistan have to move on from the setback and focus with the players who are available for the quarter-final.
“It’s surely a blow but the team got to get over it soon and think about the players they have. The team need to believe in itself as they have the potential to beat Australia,” Ramiz urged.
“Yasir Shah and Ehsan Adil are capable of producing the goods so Pakistan need to be positive about it. Yasir has done well against Australia in Test format and there is no reason why he can’t repeat the same show in one-dayers.”
It has not been an easy ride for Pakistan in the mega event as Saeed Ajmal was not selected due to suspension while key players such as Junaid Khan and Mohammad Hafeez were ruled out due to injuries.
Irfan is the fourth key player to be ruled out which escalates problems for the team.
