Leg-spinner Yasir Shah ruled out for Pakistan's tours to Ireland and England
Wahab Riaz left out of Pakistan's initial 25-man squad for tours of Ireland and England
Tuesday 10 April 2018 15:04, UK
Pakistan have suffered a setback ahead of their Test tours of Ireland and England after key leg-spinner Yasir Shah was ruled out with a hip bone injury.
The 31-year-old has been key to Pakistan's Test wins since 2014, having taken 165 wickets in 28 Test matches, including 89 wickets in 16 of the 17 Tests the team have played under head coach Mickey Arthur since May 2016.
"Yasir is ruled out of the Ireland and England Test tours and it's a big blow," chief-selector Inzamam told local media. "It's a big loss for the team."
Medical reports said Yasir - who took a match-winning 10 wickets in Pakistan's victory at Lord's in 2016 on their way to a 2-2 series draw in England - suffered a hip bone stress fracture and needs four weeks' rest in addition to another six for rehabilitation.
Seamer Wahab Riaz has also been omitted from Pakistan's initial 25-man squad for the Ireland and England tours, despite taking 40 wickets in the 11 Tests he has played since the Lord's Test against England in July 2016.
The players will attend a training camp in Lahore later this month before flying out for the tour.
Pakistan's initial 25-man squad: Sarfraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Salahuddin, Fawad Alam, Saad Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Asghar, Shadab Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Faheem Ashraf, Hussain Talat, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Musa Khan
Pakistan will be Ireland's inaugural Test opponent in Dublin from May 11-15 before playing two Tests against England - the first Test is at Lord's from May 24-28 while the second is at Leeds from June 1-5.
