Twenty-four hours after being "dropped" from the fifteen member squad of the Pakistan team travelling for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, maverick pacer Sohail Tanvir has claimed that he was perfectly fit and questioned Pakistan Cricket Board's wisdom in giving him the axe.
Earlier, the PCB dropped the unorthodox bowler from the 15-member squad on the recommendations of the national team management, a medical panel and the selection committee and replaced him with rookie left arm pacer Junaid Khan.
However, former Pakistan captain and now an ESPNSTAR.com expert, Wasim Akram also expressed his surprise on recent revealations: “Sohail Tanvir’s absence will hurt Pakistan. After Razzak, he was a dependable all-rounder. Tanvir is a good bat and could have contributed to the score lower down the order…”
Tanvir, who has so far claimed 48 wickets in 36 ODIs, said, "I don't know why they dropped me and the selectors should tell me the reason because I was fit and getting better in bowling and fielding.
"It is hugely disappointing to be dropped from a major event like the ICC Cricket World Cup at the last moment," Tanvir told The Express.
Tanvir was dropped after playing in five of the six one-day internationals in New Zealand.
Justifying its decision to omit Tanvir, the PCB said the medical panel had examined the 26-year-old bowler and decided he was not 100 percent fit to play at the top level.
"He still requires time to make a complete recovery from his knee problem for which he had an operation sometime back," PCB said in a statement.
Chief selector, Mohsin Khan said that it was on the recommendations of the team management that the pacer was dropped from the squad.
"The team management spoke to the Board chairman expressing its concerns over Tanvir's fitness. Subsequently, the medical panel examined him and declared he was not fully fit.
"The team management felt that Tanvir was struggling while fielding because of his knee problem.
"Junaid Khan was called up because of his fine performances in domestic cricket," Mohsin revealed.