Injured Rahat Ali out of Test series against Bangladesh

Karachi: Vanquished in ODIs, Pakistan suffered a blow ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh when left-arm paceman Rahat Ali was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

With the two-Test series due to start on April 28, the Pakistan Cricket board said Rahat had yet not recovered from a hamstring injury that he picked up during the first one-day international against Bangladesh earlier this month.

The PCB said the national selectors would decide on a replacement soon if required.

The Pakistan team has been hit by a spate of injuries to its key players since before the World Cup with the long list featuring Muhammad Hafeez, Sohail Khan, Junaid Khan, Bilawal Bhatti, Sohaib Maqsood, Rahat Ali, Yasir Shah.

The PCB is also investigating the reasons for these injury problems on the insistence of its board of governors.