Injured Zulqarnain in doubt for 3rd Test against England

Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, who made an impressive debut in the second Test against England at Edgbaston, is a doubtful starter for the third match starting at the Oval next week due to a finger injury.

Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed confirmed from England that Zulqarnain had suffered a hairline fracture in one of his fingers while playing in the match. "We don't know how serious the injury is right now but we will have him checked up in London by a specialist to find out if he can play or not," Yawar said.

Pakistan has already lost pacer Umar Gul, who has been ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury which he picked up during the second Test in Birmingham. Zulqarnain, who replaced the seasoned but out-of-form Kamran Akmal as keeper in the second Test, scored an impressive 88 runs in the second innings to help Pakistan avoid a big defeat.

His batting left many ex-players and commentators impressed with former captain Moin Khan predicting a bright future for Zulqarnain.

"He showed great temperament and batted with lot of guts under great pressure in the second innings and if he continues to work hard he will improve further and establish himself in the national team," Moin said.

Yawar said if Zulqarnain is unable to play, Kamran would replace him in the Test side. "He picked up the injury and played with it in the Test and he is keen to make the third Test but we will only play him if he gets medical clearance," Yawar said.

Zulqarnain had replaced Kamran for the second Test after the latter's poor performance with bat and behind the stumps in the earlier Test matches.