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Pakistan has decided to send a 15-man squad to England on June 25 as a question mark still remains on the fate of their injured pacers — Shoaib Akhtar and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official told ‘The News’ on Thursday that the announcement on the 16th man for the tour of England would wait till further reports on the pace duo which are expected by next week.

“Pakistan would go to England on Sunday with 15 men because reports on both Shoaib and Rana are still inconclusive,” said Abbas Zaidi, PCB’s Director of Board Operations.

Pakistan are scheduled to fly from Karachi in the early hours of Sunday to play four Tests, five One-day Internationals (ODIs) and other side game on the tour that would conclude with the final ODI in Birmingham on September 10.

They are still awaiting more concrete medical reports on the injuries of Shoaib and Rana, the team’s main strike bowlers who are both doubtful to play in the Test series against England.

Shoaib, who underwent twin knee surgery earlier this year, is struggling to recover from an ankle stress fracture. He last played for Pakistan in the Karachi Test against India in January this year and is trying to recover in time to be able to make a comeback in the Test series against England.

Rana suffered from a groin injury while playing for Sussex in a county match last month and might need a surgery that could put him out of action for at least three months. He is currently in England to get treatment for his groin problem. Rana is to get a scan on June 28 after which a specialist handling his case would decide how soon he could return to the field.

Shoaib has also shown some improvement though Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has said that he would not like to jeopardise the speedster’s international career by hastening his return.

“There have been positive developments for both of them,” said Zaidi but pointed out that it is still not sure whether they can be counted in or out of the tour. “It is because of the current situation that it has been decided to send 15 men to England because we would like to take some time before announcing any replacement if needed,” he said.

The replacement issue remains a thorny one as skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq is rooting his support for veteran leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed but is expected to get resistance from the national selectors.

Chief selector Wasim Bari said options remain open for his committee and it would take its time to announce a replacement if both Shoaib and Rana are ruled out of the Test series. “I would be talking to the PCB Chairman (Shaharyar Khan) and also Inzamam and Woolmer about the issue tomorrow,” said the ex-Test cricketer.
Source:The News