LONDON — Pakistani spinner Sajid Khan has been ruled out of the ongoing Pakistan Shaheens’ tour of England after sustaining an injury during a practice session in Tonbridge. According to team sources, Sajid suffered a fracture in his right thumb, forcing him to withdraw from the squad.
The injury occurred while training ahead of the team’s first One Day match. Sajid is expected to return to Pakistan on the earliest available flight. As of now, the team management has not requested a replacement player.
Pakistan Shaheens are set to play their first One Day match against a professional county club on Tuesday (today) in Beckenham.
Sajid Khan had earlier credited the NCA Skills Development camp for helping him work on his white-ball in a media talk at the LCCA Ground in Lahore.
The third phase of the camp got underway on 30 June and will conclude on Friday, 4 July.
Players including Babar Azam, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Naseem Shah also took part in a scenario-based match at the LCCA Ground.
31-year-old Sajid, who has snapped 59 wickets in 12 Tests so far, on the sidelines of the camp, said, “The spinners in the camp are working with former Test cricketer Abdul Rehman, while the batters and all-rounders are learning from Abdul Razzaq, which is a great learning curve for all of us.
“I learned a lot from Abdul Rehman during the home Test series last season and here too he is working on different aspects of my bowling like line and length, use of crease, development of arm ball and related white-ball skills.”
On the routine in the camp, Sajid shed light on how the various sessions in the camp, “We arrive at the NCA at 5 am every day and train till 9 am and then from 12.30 pm to 6 pm. The coaches are working on all aspects of our games, with fielding being the critical part.”
Talking about his aspirations to break into Pakistan’s white-ball squads, Sajid said, “Playing Test cricket is a huge honour for everyone, but I also want to play white-ball cricket for Pakistan, and the camp specifically helps in honing those skills required in shorter formats.”
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