Hospital confirms Shoaib's injury

Islamabad:

A reputed hospital has released a medical report establishing that Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar was suffering from pain in his lower rib cage during the deciding Test against India at Rawalpindi. A bone scan carried out by a team of nuclear physicians at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital revealed injury in the 11th left rib, caused probably due to "persistent stress". Shoaib claims to have hurt his wrist as well as back when he fell on his followthrough on the second day of the Pindi Test which India went on to win by an innings and 131 runs. His refusal to bowl on the crucial third day but showing no apparent discomfort while batting led to speculation that he may have feigned the injury. Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board's CEO Rameez Raja clarified that a scan had not been done on Shoaib during the Pindi Test. "A bone scan was not conducted then to ascertain his position. We still have to see how old his injury is, how bad was it during the Pindi Test. The medical commission has to look into the technicalities of the injury and give their recommendations," Raja was quoted as saying in the media. He also said the medical commission had also viewed the videos of Shoaib's bowling, fall and batting during the Pindi test and would give their report after taking everything into consideration. (PTI)