November 24, 2007	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 13, 1428

NEW DELHI, Nov 23: Injured Pakistan paceman Umar Gul may not be fit for the second Test against India which could force the team management to recall Rao Iftikhar Anjum as a cover, chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said on Friday.

Gul was ruled out of the first Test on the match eve due to a back sprain, forcing the Pakistanis to give a Test cap to Sohail Tanvir, who shared the new ball with Shoaib Akhtar on the second day at the Ferozeshah Kotla.

“I don’t think Gul will be fit for the second Test. We may bring Rao Iftikhar Anjum back to India,” Salahuddin said. “Rao did very well in ODIs against South Africa,” he added.

Earlier, a source in the Pakistan team said a decision on whether to send back injured paceman Umar Gul would be taken in the next few days after a thorough assessment of his medical report by the Cricket Board’s medical commission.

The source said Gul’s MRI reports had been sent to the Pakistan Cricket Board medical commission and it was expected that it would send its opinion to the team management in the next couple of days.

”We have sent the reports to Pakistan and after consulting with the orthopaedics and other medical experts a decision will be taken on whether to retain him or send him back. We will surely know the status in the next couple of days,” the source said.—Agencies