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Karachi: Pakistan pulled fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar out of next month's World Twenty20 tournament in England due to injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board said Thursday.
The 33-year-old missed last week's conditioning camp in a luxury Pakistani hill resort due to injuries on his groin and his omission had been widely expected after he missed the first of three practice matches here Wednesday.
"We have pulled him out of the World Twenty20 on the basis of a medical report given by our doctor which said that Akhtar needs 10 days to recover from groin wounds," the PCB said.
Akhtar becomes the first casualty of the 12-team event for which final 15-man squads were announced on May 5.
The PCB said it has written to the technical committee of the World Twenty20 for the right to name a replacement after the fast bowler's fitness was assessed by a three-man panel on Thursday.
Akhtar is likely to be replaced by paceman Rao Iftikhar for the second edition of the World Twenty20 which starts in England from June 5.
He was dropped from the team after getting just one wicket in the two one-day matches internationals against Sri Lanka in February.
He was later ruled out of the Test series because of knee problems. The series was ultimately abandoned after gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team bus en route to the stadium in Lahore.
Akhtar was then included in Pakistan's squad for their five one-dayers and one Twenty20 match series in the United Arab Emirates this month.
