Umar Akmal latest Pak cricketer to join ever-growing injury list

Lahore, Apr.10 (ANI): Young middle-order batsman Umar Akmal is the latest Pakistani cricketer to have suffered an injury during the ongoing preparatory camp for the upcoming ICC World Championship starting on April 30 in the West Indies.

Pakistan's hope of defending their T20 title suffered a scare when Umar developed a side sprain, but luckily the injury was not serious.

Captain Shahid Afridi confirmed that Umar's injury was not of a serious nature, and the batsman would return to the nets soon.

"Umar is getting troubled by the injury because it becomes painful when he bats which is why he is not attending the nets," The News quoted Afridi, as saying, who himself is nursing a finger injury.

The ongoing training camp here, is proving to be tough on the players, as many of them have suffered injuries. n a bid to improve the fielding skills of players, coach Waqar Younis is making the team undergo a tough training schedule, which has resulted in injuries to many players.

While skipper Afridi is already out of action, fast bowler Umar Gul, who has been struggling with form and fitness in the recent past, is also nursing an injury.

All rounders Fawad Alam and Yasir Aarafat are also on the injury list.

Afridi said the team management is planning to slow down the pace of training at the camp to give players time for rejuvenation before leaving for the West Indies.

"We will switch to lighter training in the final phase of the camp so that the players are fresh when we leave home to play the Twenty20 World Cup," Afridi said. (ANI)