Zaheer passes fitness test

Published July 23, 2004

COLOMBO, July 22: Pace bowler Zaheer Khan has passed a fitness test on his injured hamstring and will be available for India's remaining second round Asia Cup matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Zaheer, who has been plagued by leg injuries all year, injured his hamstring while fielding last weekend, prompting fears that he would be forced to pull out of the tournament.

"He is available for selection," said team physiotherapist Andrew Leipus after the left-arm seamer underwent a fitness test on Thursday. "He has done everything thing that we asked him to do today and he came through with flying colours.

"It looked like it was a strain but the speed with which he has recovered suggests that it was actually a spasm," he added.

"We did find a few dysfunctions around his pelvis and lower back, which is not unusual in a sportsman, but may have contributed to this injury.

"We have still have a lot of work to do in terms of prevention, not just in the next few days but for the rest of his career, as there is quite a lot of instability in his back."

Zaheer was delighted to have passed the test but anxious that he now makes it through the next game.

"The most important thing for me now is to get through matches without breaking down and get over the mental block that I now have," Zaheer told reporters.

"It was a freak injury, and just a niggle, but it has mentally very difficult. The worst part was that I had been doing all the right things and putting in the work."-Reuters