17 Dec 2010

Tanvir out of NZ tour

5:46 am on 17 December 2010

The Pakistan fast bowler Sohail Tanvir has been ruled out of the New Zealand tour that starts later this month due to a knee injury.

His place in the Twenty20 squad will be taken by 24-year-old top-order batsman Asad Shafiq, while no replacement has yet been named for the Tests.

The tour starts with three Twenty20s, starting on Boxing Day in Auckland, followed by two Tests and six one-day internationals.

Pakistan are yet to name a squad for the one-dayers.

Three players - allrounder Shoaib Malik, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and legspinner Danish Kaneria - were left out of the Test and Twenty20 squads for the New Zealand after the PCB refused to clear them for the series.

Three other players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif - have been suspended by the ICC over charges of spot-fixing that arose during Pakistan's tour of England in August.