KARACHI: Pakistan suffered a stinging setback Monday 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.
Chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq confirmed the spinner will not be available for the tours.
“Yasir is ruled out of the Ireland and England Test tours and it’s a big blow,” Inzamam told local media. “It’s a big loss for the team.”
Medical reports said Yasir suffered a hip bone stress fracture and needs four weeks rest in addition to another six for rehabilitation.
Inzamam said Pakistan called on teenage leg-spinner Shadab Khan, off-spinner Bilal Asif and left-arm slow bowler Kashif Bhatti to fill in the gap.
Shadab has taken just one wicket in a single Test appearance in Barbados last year, while the others have yet to play a Test.
Yasir has taken 89 wickets in 16 of the 17 Tests Pakistan have played under head coach Mickey Arthur since May 2016.
He 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.
The leg-spinner also raced to 100 wickets in 17 Tests, while also taking 150 wickets in 27 Tests — the second fastest player in Pakistan to achieve both milestones.
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.
Leg-spinner Yasir ruled out for Pakistan’s UK tours
Leg-spinner Yasir ruled out for Pakistan’s UK tours
- Shah was ruled out with a hip bone injury
- The 31-year-old needs four weeks rest in addition to another six for rehabilitation, says medical report
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
