Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Irfan was ruled out of Pakistan’s squad on Tuesday ahead of the World Cup quarterfinal against Australia due to a stress fracture of the pelvis. The 7-foot tall fast bowler had medical scans on Monday which revealed a stress injury, but weren’t considered conclusive. Pakistan team physiotherapist Brad Robinson ordered further scans on Tuesday, which confirmed the full extent.
“This injury rules Irfan out of the World Cup,” Robinson said in a statement. The Pakistan Cricket Board said it will wait until the result of Friday’s quarterfinal before deciding on whether to send a replacement for Irfan or not. Pakistan had several bowling problems ahead of the World Cup with Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul and Junaid Khan all ruled out due to either suspension or injuries.
Shastri pep talk helped dhawan
Indian cricket team’s Director Ravi Shastri played a massive role in getting Shikhar Dhawan back on track after a prolonged lean patch during the tour of Australia, according to a team official. It has been learnt that Shastri had a lengthy session with Dhawan just before the start of the World Cup, which definitely helped the fiery left-hander, who is presently India’s leading run-scorer in the World Cup with 337 runs.
“Before the World Cup started, Ravi (Shastri) had a lengthy session with Shikhar (Dhawan) and gave him a pep talk. Those of us, who have seen Ravi address the players from time to time would swear by his passionate speeches. It worked wonders for Dhawan as everyone can see," a senior member of the Indian team’s support staff said on condition of anonymity. According to the team official, the best aspect about Shastri’s pep talk was that it has got nothing to do with technical nuances.
“Ravi does not talk on cricketing matters or about any technical problems that the players might be facing. Ravi made one thing clear to the players. There is a chief coach Duncan Fletcher and three assistant coaches. Any technical problem will be addressed by the quartet. For him, it’s about giving time to the players, understanding what’s going through their mind. In case of Shikhar, Ravi told him that he should just play in the manner that has got him runs all these days.”
‘Won’t mind facing India again’
Pakistan’s captain Misbah-ul-Haq says his team wouldn’t mind facing India in the semifinals if it progresses to that stage. He said it will be another opportunity for them to try and break the jinx of not winning a match against their arch-rivals in a World Cup. “It will be another chance for us to go there with a positive frame of mind. We would take it like another opportunity for us to break the shackles as we have never won against India in the World Cup,” Misbah said. He remained confident his team could beat Australia on Friday. “Even though we’ve lost Irfan, which is a big blow, we can do it. If we can beat South Africa, which is one of the finest sides, then we can do it against Australia.”