Wasim Akram: “Ihsanullah got injured and we still don’t know where he is or what his status is after his elbow surgery”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary left-arm seamer Wasim Akram has asked where electrifying Pakistan fast bowler Ihsanullah is after he underwent elbow surgery.
Wasim added that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should also provide a clear status update on the 21-year-old, especially as he was the talk of the town earlier in 2023.
The PCB released a statement at the beginning of November that stated Ihsanullah was “on [the] road to recovery.”
Despite this, the Sultan of Swing admitted he is less than impressed with the lack of communication from the board, noting that other countries like Australia took care of talents like current captain Pat Cummins when he was injured and recovering for two years.
“When Pat Cummins was injured, Cricket Australia continued paying his salary for 2 years while he recovered. They managed him and looked after him. With us, Ihsanullah got injured and we still don’t know where he is or what his status is after his elbow surgery,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ihsanullah stole the spotlight during the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he took 22 wickets in 12 matches for the Multan Sultans at an average of 15.77 and an economy rate of 7.59.
After that, he was catapulted into the Pakistan team and played four T20Is and one ODI.
Due to his injury, Ihsanullah was not selected for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where Pakistan triumphed over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before stumbling against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite fighting back to triumph over Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign on a low as England pummelled them by 93 runs.
Since he is still recovering, Ihsanullah was not selected for Pakistan’s upcoming three-match Test series against Australia, which begins on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi