The injury controversy rocking Pakistan cricket took a new twist with a medical report from a reputed hospital establishing that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was suffering from pain in his lower rib cage which may have prevented him from taking the field on day 3 in the third Test against India at Rawalpindi earlier this month.
A bone scan carried out by a team of nuclear physicians at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital revealed injury in the 11th left rib, probably due to "persistent stress".
Shoaib claims to have hurt his wrist as well as back when he fell on his follow through on the second day of the Pindi Test, which India went on to win by an innings and 131 runs.
His refusal to bowl on the crucial third day, while showing no apparent discomfort while batting, led to speculation that he may have feigned the injury.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board CEO Rameez Raja clarified that a scan had not been done on Shoaib during the Pindi Test.
"A bone scan was not conducted then to ascertain his position. We still have to see how old his injury is, how bad was it during the Pindi Test. The medical commission has to look into the technicalities of the injury and give their recommendations," Raja was quoted as saying in the media.
He also said the medical commission also viewed videos of Shoiab's bowling, fall and batting during the Pindi Test and would give their report after taking everything into consideration.
"The idea of having this medical commission is not to condemn any player... we want everything to be crystal clear," he said.
