PAKMAN
State 12th Man
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq may play no further part in the second Test against India because of back trouble.
The 35-year-old, who struck his 25th Test century in his 107th match, will only field in an emergency after suffering a back spasm in Faisalabad.
"I am in a lot of pain," he said. "It has troubled me for the last two years, I need to find a permanent solution."
Inzamam will consult specialists in Karachi ahead of the third Test, which begins there on 29 January.
Meanwhile, Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik is also unlikely to play any further part in the match after rushing home to be with his seriously ill father.
Malik has returned to his hometown Sialkot after discovering that his father is in a critical condition in a coma.
"Malik was distraught and wanted to return home immediately to be with him. His father is suffering from various illnesses," a Pakistan team official said.
"He has taken permission from the team management and since he is under great mental stress it was thought best to allow him to go."
Having made two hundreds in the Faisalabad Test against England in December, followed by a 97 in the next match, Inzamam suffered a rare blip when he was dismissed for one in the first Test with India.
That did not last as he plundered 12 fours and a six in the current Test in Faisalabad, despite being inconvenienced for much of his innings by his recurring back problems.
On Pakistan's tour of Australia in 2004/5, Inzamam was forced to miss two Tests because of similar trouble.
Meanwhile, India coach Greg Chappell accepted with good grace Inzamam's latest hundred, which pushed the former Aussie captain out of the all-time top 10 century-makers.
"That's fine. He's a very, very good cricketer," Chappell told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme.
"The standard of cricket around the place is pretty solid.
"Bearing in mind that what I did was last century, I'm not surprised I've finally fallen out of the list," added Chappell, who played 20 fewer Tests.
The 35-year-old, who struck his 25th Test century in his 107th match, will only field in an emergency after suffering a back spasm in Faisalabad.
"I am in a lot of pain," he said. "It has troubled me for the last two years, I need to find a permanent solution."
Inzamam will consult specialists in Karachi ahead of the third Test, which begins there on 29 January.
Meanwhile, Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik is also unlikely to play any further part in the match after rushing home to be with his seriously ill father.
Malik has returned to his hometown Sialkot after discovering that his father is in a critical condition in a coma.
"Malik was distraught and wanted to return home immediately to be with him. His father is suffering from various illnesses," a Pakistan team official said.
"He has taken permission from the team management and since he is under great mental stress it was thought best to allow him to go."
Having made two hundreds in the Faisalabad Test against England in December, followed by a 97 in the next match, Inzamam suffered a rare blip when he was dismissed for one in the first Test with India.
That did not last as he plundered 12 fours and a six in the current Test in Faisalabad, despite being inconvenienced for much of his innings by his recurring back problems.
On Pakistan's tour of Australia in 2004/5, Inzamam was forced to miss two Tests because of similar trouble.
Meanwhile, India coach Greg Chappell accepted with good grace Inzamam's latest hundred, which pushed the former Aussie captain out of the all-time top 10 century-makers.
"That's fine. He's a very, very good cricketer," Chappell told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme.
"The standard of cricket around the place is pretty solid.
"Bearing in mind that what I did was last century, I'm not surprised I've finally fallen out of the list," added Chappell, who played 20 fewer Tests.
