Gul, Arafat may miss World T20 due to injury

Gul, Arafat may miss World T20 due to injury

The duo could make way for Sami and Shahzaib for the much-awaited spectacle getting underway in Guyana from April 30

Monday, April 12, 2010
By Khalid Hussain

KARACHI: Defending champions Pakistan were on Sunday bracing themselves for a double blow just weeks before the start of the ICC World Twenty20 championship as they feared losing pacer Umar Gul and allrounder Yasir Arafat because of injuries.

The national team management is still awaiting complete medical reports of the injured players but ‘The News’ has learnt that there is a big possibility that Pakistan might have to drop the duo for the World Twenty20 which gets underway in Guyana from April 30.

Test fast bowler Mohammad Sami and big-hitting opener Shahzaib Hasan are in line to be picked as replacements for Gul and Arafat if they are dropped from the Twenty20 squad.

Gul, Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the previous two editions of the World Twenty20 championship, is struggling to recover from a shoulder injury.

He got injured during the World Twenty20 training camp which got underway at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore earlier this month. Gul has been out of action for the last several days and seems unlikely to be a part of the touring party which is scheduled to leave for the Caribbean on April 24 from Lahore.

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, confirmed that Gul is yet to recover from the shoulder injury but he was hopeful that the fast bowler will get fit in time to the catch a flight to St Lucia where Pakistan will begin their title campaign with group matches against Australia and Bangladesh.

“We are still awaiting a word from the experts on Gul and that whether he would be able to play in the Twenty20 World Cup,” Afridi told ‘The News’.

Afridi hoped that Gul will get an all-clear from the doctors, saying that he is a key player for Pakistan.

“I hope he gets fit and manages to go with us to the West Indies,” said Afridi. “He is a top performer in Twenty20 cricket and has done a great job for the team in the last two (T20) World Cups. We would certainly need him in the West Indies because the conditions would really help him get a lot of reverse swing there,” he stressed.

Gul, 25, is currently the leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 cricket with 43 scalps from 26 matches at a superb average of 12.81. He was one of the reasons why Pakistan won the previous edition of the World Twenty20 in an in impressive manner.

Yasir Arafat is dogged by a calf injury and though he has resumed batting practice, the allrounder cannot bowl because of the problem. He, too, seems a doubtful starter for the World Twenty20 where Pakistan are to defend their title. Arafat also suffered from fitness problems during the 2009 World Twenty20 in England last summer and Pakistan were forced to replace him with comeback allrounder Abdul Razzaq in the middle of the tournament.

Afridi said that in case Pakistan needed to replace either Gul or Arafat, the national team management will try to pick the best possible alternatives. He agreed that Sami and Shahzaib will be considered but was quick to add that the final decision will be made only after it’s confirmed that Pakistan will need the replacements.

Shahzaib was a surprise selection for the 2009 World Twenty20 but justified his inclusion in the team with a couple of quick-fire knocks in the competition.

Sami, 29, is an experienced campaigner but is yet to make his debut in Twenty20 Internationals. But he has a lot of experience in the shortest format of the game because of a stint with the rebel Indian Cricket league (ICL).