Pakistan suffer major blow as Irfan ruled out of World Cup

ADELAIDE, Australia: Pakistan can’t say they weren’t warned, writes Khalid Hussain.
Time and again, there were warnings that Mohammad Irfan – the tallest man to play international cricket – has a fragile body mainly because of his giant-sized frame and needed to be handled with care.
But Pakistan didn’t pay much heed. They did precious little to manage Irfan’s World Cup workload, making him play all five of their Pool B games, including a cluster of three games within a span of a week. And that involved trans-Tasman flights.
And now they have to pay the price for their lack of foresight.
On Tuesday, the team’s pace spearhead, who missed their last group game against Ireland, was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup because of a stress fracture of his pelvis.
It is a huge blow for Pakistan, who are hoping to topple title favourites Australia when the two sides meet in Friday’s World Cup quarter-final here at Adelaide Oval.
The left-armer was supposed to be Pakistan’s trump card on an unusually fast Adelaide wicket after helping them win two crucial games against Zimbabwe in Brisbane and South Africa in Auckland.
Irfan, 32, has been out of action since the game against Proteas because of what was initially described by team officials as a quadriceps “niggle”.
Time and again, he picked up the cricket ball at the nets on Tuesday but refrained from hurling any delivery at the batters.
Till that time, he was still hoping to stay alive in the World Cup even after a radiologist’s report noted a stress injury but remained inconclusive.
On Tuesday, Irfan went through a more detailed scan after which it was confirmed that he was nursing what is quite an unusual injury in international cricket.
Later, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a media release in which Brad Robinson – the national team’s phsio – was quoted as saying that the fast bowler‘s World Cup was over.
“Irfan underwent an MRI scan on

Monday afternoon and the radiologist’s report showed a stress injury of the pelvis but was inconclusive,” the statement said.
“Pakistan physiotherapist Brad Robinson ordered a more detailed scan, which was carried out Tuesday afternoon, and it reconfirmed an obvious stress fracture in the pelvis.
“This injury rules Irfan out of the World Cup,” the release quoted Robinson as saying.
The Board announced that for the moment the team management hasn’t asked for Irfan’s replacement.
“The Team Pakistan think tank is not immediately asking the selection committee back home for a replacement, but shall wait until the result of the Friday’s quarterfinal encounter against Australia to do so,” it concluded.
Pakistan, if they beat Australia, will meet the winner of the India-Bangladesh quarterfinal in an All-Asian last clash in Sydney next Thursday.
Irfan’s injury did create quite a few ripples on the social media and not just because he was one of the most followed players in the World Cup. The injury in itself is quite unheard of in international cricket though it is quite common among long distance runner.
Mike Selvey, the former England pacer, tweeted “a new one to me I have to say”.
The fact that pelvis structure is a serious injury and can take up to 12 months of rest and rehab means that Irfan could to be out for a long time.
Irfan was touted as the most potent weapon in Pakistan’s arsenal in the lead up to the World Cup. He had a couple of quiet games as Pakistan crashed against India and West Indies but bounced back to help his side win against Zimbabwe and South Africa. He took eight wickets at an average of 23.25 from five World Cup games.