(REUTERS) – Pakistan were dealt a blow when wicketkeeper-batsman Zulqarnain Haider was ruled out of the final two Tests against England. The Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement that Haider would return home because of a hairline fracture of his finger.
The visitors, 2-0 down in the four-match series, take on England in the third Test at the Oval starting tomorrow. The final game at Lord’s begins on August 26.
Haider, 24, was one of Pakistan’s few successes in last week’s second-Test defeat in Birmingham after he made a fighting 88 – the highest score in the match – on his Test debut.
Vice-captain Kamran Akmal will now return to the team after being dropped for the second Test.
Pakistan are also expected to recall former captain Mohammad Yousuf and Yasir Hameed to bolster the batting.