PSL team Multan Sultans' owner Ali Khan Tareen has claimed that Pakistan fast bowler Ihsanullah will not be able to “bowl in the same way” due to a “botched” surgery.
Ihsanullah shot to the limelight with an outstanding PSL 2023, where he finished as the second-highest wicket-taker, claiming 22 scalps for the Sultans. The most striking aspect of his breakthrough performance was his ability to constantly clock 150 kmph on the speed gun.
He was subsequently fast-tracked into the Pakistan side but his emergence was cut short by an elbow injury on his ODI debut against New Zealand in April that year.
An independent report formed by a three-member panel stated that there was a delay in the diagnosis of his injury, criticising the PCB for "inappropriate prescription of treatment".
The report also added that PCB's chief medical officer Dr Sohail Saleem "planned hurriedly" for Ihsanullah’s surgery and recommended an "inappropriate surgeon, lacking the academics and experience in the field" to treat the pacer’s injury.
Tareen later posted on X that the Sultans bore the expenses of Ihsanullah's rehabilitation and surgery in the UK instead of PCB.
Tareen: We were told Ihsanullah will never be able to bowl the same way
Speaking on The Relukattay Show, Tareen expressed his disappointment with PCB's mismanagement of Ihsanullah's injury and minced no words in his criticism of the board.
"It's very sad. It's really, really sad but we got Ihsanullah consulted with a top surgeon - he is a "world expert" - who gave us big news, saying that ‘I can do the surgery but no matter what I do, there is so much scarring from his previously botched surgery, thanks to the PCB, that his arm will never become perfectly straight,'" Tareen said.
"'No matter what I do, there is so much scarring that no matter how much I remove it, it will never get 100% straight. He will never be able to bowl in the same way because he does not have a straight arm, there will always be a bend',"
"So, it is so unfortunate that one person ruined a player’s career to hide his mistake. It's a very unfortunate story. That’s why even now, he was bowling in domestic at 130-135, which is a high pace but he was our 155 [kmph] bowler, man," he added.
Ihsanullah recently made his comeback to competitive cricket in the Champions T20 Cup, picking up four wickets in two matches. Since the injury following his ODI debut, he hasn’t represented Pakistan in any format. In addition, he has played four T20Is, with six wickets at an average of 18.00 and an economy of 7.28.
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