Selectors withdraw Tanvir from Test squad

Karachi:

Sohail Tanvir's return to international cricket got delayed as Pakistani selectors on Thursday pulled out the paceman from the national Test squad for the upcoming series against South Africa in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Tanvir was named in the Test squad, announced last month but the selectors had made it clear that his trip would be subject to fitness as the left-arm pacer has only recently resumed playing competitive cricket after a major knee operation in Australia.

"The medical advice on Tanvir is that he needs to be given more time to complete his rehabilitation process and he will not be joining the test squad," a selector said.

Tanvir missed the third match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy domestic tournament for his team, Zarai Taraqyati bank which started today.

Their was no official word on why he had missed it but sources said the pacer had suffered a painful blow to his knee in his last domestic match.

Tanvir has been in fine form in the Quaid Trophy taking 15 wickets in two matches and also scoring a half-century.

The Pakistan Cricket Board in a strange decision recalled batsman, Misbah-ul-Haq out of a six month wilderness last month and named him as the new Test captain after the suspension of Salman Butt who led the team in England.

Misbah unfortunately has failed to get going in the two T20 matches and first two one-day internationals against South Africa and was dropped for the third match.

Their will be five changes in the Pakistan squad for the two test matches with senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf, leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, pacer Muhammad Sami, batsman Azhar Ali and opener Taufeeq Umar leaving on Monday to join the team.

From the one-day squad, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam and Muhammad Hafeez will return home.