File photo of Ihsanullah.© X (formerly Twitter)
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is concerned over young fast bowler Ihsanullah’s prolonged recovery from an elbow injury, which has persisted for a year. A reliable PCB source told PTI that senior officials are frustrated with Ihsanullah’s recent behavior, particularly after he contradicted a statement made by his father. Ihsanullah’s father visited Lahore a few weeks ago to meet with PCB officials, requesting that his son continue his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) rather than in his hometown of Swat. He informed the media that Ihsanullah also preferred to continue his rehab at the NCA.
However, the next day, the 21-year-old Ihsanullah tweeted that he was comfortable with continuing his rehabilitation in Swat and did not see the need to travel to Lahore, directly contradicting his father’s statement.
“The board officials are worried with the sincerity and hard work Ihsan is putting into his rehab program which was designed for him by experts after he was sent to the UK for an appointment with a specialist,” the source said.
He added that the recommendation for Ihsanullah to continue his rehab in Swat, under the supervision of an assigned trainer, was made by an independent medical panel appointed by the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
“But with fitness tests to be held before the Champions Cup domestic event there is growing concern over whether Ihsanullah himself is taking his rehab process seriously,” the source said.
Ihsanullah emerged as a promising talent for Pakistan during last year’s Pakistan Super League and was quickly integrated into the national white-ball squad for T20 and ODI matches before suffering his elbow injury.
The handling of Ihsanullah’s injury also led to the resignation of the PCB’s head of the medical panel, Dr. Sohail Saleem, after an independent panel was formed to review the diagnosis and treatment recommended for the fast bowler.
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