Zaheer ruled out of series

Published April 4, 2004

LAHORE, April 3: India's injuries woes on the Pakistan tour increased on Saturday after left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan was declared unfit to take part in the remaining two Tests. Zaheer, who suffered a leg injury during the first Test in Multan , will return home on Monday after it was confirmed he would be out of action for at least two weeks.

"It is not a hamstring problem as was suspected earlier, but the doctors in Lahore and team physiotherapist Andrew Leipus decided it was a risk to play him," manager Ratnakar Shetty said.

Zaheer is the third player in the touring squad to be sent home due to injuries.

Ashish Nehra, another left-arm seamer, who left the team following a hand injury during the preceding one-day series, was asked to return to Pakistan when Zaheer got injured.

Captain Saurav Ganguly, currently seeking treatment for back pain in his home city of Kolkata, is expected to rejoin the squad for the final Test at Rawalpindi from April 13.

One-day specialist Mohammad Kaif was added to the squad in Ganguly's absence.-AFP

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