Younis cleared for CT match against India

Pakistan's regular skipper Younis Khan, who was recovering from a finger injury, has been cleared for their next Champions Trophy match against arch-rival India in Centurion on September 26.

Pakistan's regular skipper Younis Khan, who was recovering from a finger injury, has been cleared for their next Champions Trophy match against arch-rival India in Centurion on September 26.

HT Image

Younis missed their campaign-opener against West Indies, which Pakistan won by five wickets under the stand-in skipper Shahid Afridi on Wednesday, due to a hair-line fracture in his little finger of right hand.

Younis who bats at the crucial number three position and is one of Pakistan's senior batsmen sustained the fracture during a warm-up match against Sri Lanka at Benoni on the run-up to the eight-nation tournament.

"Younis suffered a minor hairline fracture in his right hand finger during Pakistan's practice match, but he will play against India," a statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board said.

"He is under medication and could have been available for the match against West Indies but the team management decided not to take risk so that he could be fully fit and available for the crunch game against India on September 26 at centurion," the statement said.

It would be the first international encounter between Pakistan and India since relations between the two countries soured following the Mumbai terror incidents last year.