Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali has been ruled out of the test series against Sri Lanka next month because of broken ribs. Scans revealed cortical rib fractures that required up to six weeks to heal, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Friday.
Hasan was cleared last week of a back injury that took seven weeks to heal, and played in the last two rounds of Pakistan’s premier four-day tournament, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
But just before the start of the match last Friday, Hasan complained about pain in his left side. Scans revealed fractures of the “ninth rib on the right side and eighth and ninth ribs on the left side.”
Hasan last played an international in June against archrival India during the Cricket World Cup in England.
Pakistan is due to host Sri Lanka for a two-test series from Dec. 11. Rawalpindi stages the first test from Dec. 11 followed by the second test at Karachi from Dec. 19.
Sri Lanka will be the first team to play Test matches in Pakistan in more than a decade since the team suffered a deadly ambush by gunmen in Lahore in 2009.
Pakistan are currently in Australia where they are taking part in a two-Test series. The side lost the first Test in Brisbane, and are playing to avoid a series defeat against the hosts in a Day-Night Test in Adelaide.
