Karachi: Pakistan's tall left-arm pace bowler, Muhammad Irfan has been ruled out of the forthcoming series against Sri Lanka due to a hip injury.
A reliable source in the PCB said that doctors had advised Irfan to not play the series even after he recovers from his injury which will take around six weeks.
"Doctors feel that because of his unusual height (Irfan is nearly 7ft) and physical condition he will required more than six weeks to make a complete recovery and should not risk playing the Sri Lanka series," the source said.
Intikhab Alam, a senior official in the PCB, told reporters in Lahore today that Irfan had suffered a hip fracture in the last match of the series against South Africa in the UAE.
"Irfan is doubtful for the Sri Lanka series as he requires atleast six weeks to make a recovery," Alam said.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka play the first match of the series on December 11 with the rubber to conclude in January.
"Irfan was perfectly all right when he played that game but unfortunately he fell on his hip bone and MRI scans showed it's a fracture," Alam said.
Irfan told PTI he was hopeful of making a complete recovery from his hip problem as he was being well looked after by the board.
"My fitness is being monitored closely by the board and specialists and they have said I need six weeks to resume playing," Irfan said.
"I am targetting a return in the Test but will not risk aggravagating the injury if doctors advise me against playing," he added.
Irfan bowled a total of 117 overs in two Tests, five one-day internationals and two T20 matches against South Africa taking 16 wickets, before breaking down in the last game.
