The Hindu : Sport/Cricket : Zaheer Khan to return home

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 04, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

Zaheer Khan to return home

By Our Special Correspondent

LAHORE, APRIL 3. Zaheer Khan will be flying home before the second Test, after it was decided

on the advise of the specialists, that the left-arm paceman did not stand a realistic chance of recovering from a muscle strain in his right leg before the third Test, beginning on April 13 in Rawalpindi.

Announcing this to presspersons here on Saturday, Indian team manager Ratnakar Shetty said though the MRI scan did not reveal an injury to Zaheer's hamstring that cut short his Australian tour, the side did not want to take a chance with less than fully fit bowlers in the third Test. "He

needs two weeks to recover, and we don't have two weeks. This is now a 15-member Indian squad, and if the captain (Sourav Ganguly) joins, it will have sixteen members,'' he said.

Ashish Nehra, who has flown in as a replacement for Zaheer, spoke to the media after the Indian practice session at the Gaddafi Stadium. Nehra, who had to leave for home after the second ODI due to a split webbing on his bowling hand, said he had recovered fully from the injury. "The stitches were removed last week and I have played in two one-day matches since then. I do not feel any pain,'' the left-arm paceman said.

"It was great watching the Indian team win the ODI series and the first Test. If I am picked, hopefully, I can contribute,'' he said.

About the healthy competition in the Indian pace bowling scenario, he said, "youngsters like Pathan and Balaji are bowling well. It is good to have competition.''

Middle-order batsman Mohd. Kaif and Nehra joined the team on Saturday.

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