Published: Jul 07, 2014, 01:03 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 07, 2014, 01:03 AM (IST)
Karachi: Jul 6, 2014
Injuries continued to hound seasoned Pakistan pacer Umar Gul as he is likely to have again aggravated his knee on which he had keyhole surgery last year in a bid to prolong his international career. Gul went off the fielding after bowling just two overs in the Lord’s Bicentenary match between the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and Rest of the World (RoW) XI on July 5, 2014.
“He went off after bowling two overs and fielded only for a while. We have heard that he might have aggravated the same right knee on which he had surgery last year,” a source close to the selectors told PTI.
Gul, who is Pakistan’s most experienced pace bowler in the present team, has faced problems with his knee since last year and even after making a comeback last October in the series against Sri Lanka in the UAE there are doubts over his ability to bowl long spells without breaking down.
The source said that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would know by Monday what the position with Gul was. But until now indications were that he received immediate treatment from the team physio in the dressing room and had gone off as a precautionary measure after not feeling comfortable.
Gul underwent the knee surgery in May last year in Australia after he broke down during the tour to South Africa.
“Gul has struggled and bowled with the knee problem for some time now which is why he was sent to have the surgery. He figures prominently in our future plans leading up to the World Cup so obviously the selectors are concerned with him bowling just two overs at Lords,” the source said.
Interestingly, the source said the selectors during their meeting in Lahore at the weekend had already discussed in detail with head coach Waqar Younis about Gul’s role in future events and there was strong consensus that he should only be used in One-Day International (ODI) and T20I cricket.
The ability of Pakistan’s other pacer Mohammad Irfan to bowl long spells has also been reviewed by the national selectors and both were unlikely to feature in the coming Test series against Sri Lanka.
