Mohammad Hafeez injury rules him out for two weeks
Sami Aslam, Zulfiqar Babar to replace the all-rounder for ODIs
LAHORE–October 4, 2014: In the wake of injury to all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, which ruled him out for at least two weeks, Shaharyar M. Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has endorsed the request for his replacement with opener Sami Aslam and left-arm slow bowler Zulfiqar Babar.
The replacements were unanimously suggested by the team management, led by Moin Khan, manager/chief selector and seconded by head coach Waqar Younis and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq.
While playing the second practice game at Sharjah on Oct. 3, Hafeez received an injury in his left palm webbing which required five stitches. The physio’s report suggested minimum two weeks rest, which ruled him out of the limited-overs part of the series against Australia. The team management had thus unanimously decided that there was no point in retaining him on the tour.
As his replacement, the team management had requested for Sami Aslam to fill-up the opener’s slot. Sami was already in the UAE, so he joins the squad straightaway. Hafeez’s all-round capability had left the team short of a spinner. To fill that void, left-arm slow bowler Zulfiqar Babar too has been retained as the third spin option.
