June 19, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 14, 1429

MUMBAI, June 18: Indian paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth has been ruled out of the Asia Cup in Pakistan.

Sreesanth, who also missed the tri-series in Bangladesh, has not recovered from the side strain he sustained during the Indian Premier League.

He was declared unfit for the tournament by Paul Close, the physio at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

The BCCI said Sreesanth would begin a bowling rehabilitation programme on June 23, and that he would need at least two weeks before a full recovery.

Sreesanth suffered a left side strain during Kings XI Punjab’s final league match in the IPL, against Rajasthan Royals in Mohali on May 28. He played the semi-final, but only bowled one over in the loss against Chennai Super Kings.

He featured in all 15 of Punjab’s matches during the IPL, and finished with 19 wickets in the tournament, making him the joint-second highest wicket-taker with Shane Warne, and three behind Sohail Tanvir’s 22.

The Asia Cup starts on June 24, and India play their first game against Hong Kong a day later. Sreesanth was included in the original 15-man squad and his place is likely to be taken by Manpreet Gony, who also replaced him for the tri-series in Bangladesh.—Agencies