Harris Sohail has been ruled out of the England tour with a grade 3 hamstring injury and will return to Lahore on the first available flight to undergo a four-week rehabilitation program at the High Performance Centre. He was to make a comeback in ODIs after he was dropped after the Zimbabwe series last year.
Pakistan have not named a replacement as they have a large squad and have the options of Sohaib Maqsood, Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman to fill them.
Sohail was also dropped from the Test squad after the tour of New Zealand earlier this year and has since played only four List A matches for Balochistan in January. He scored an unbeaten century in four matches in the Pakistan Cup, scoring 164 runs but missed a major part of the tournament when he was in New Zealand. He was picked for the ODIs in England after missing the series against South Africa.
Pakistan reached England on 25 June, started training on 28 June and Sohail complained of a strain in his leg after two net sessions. He withdrew from the first intra-squad practice game on 1 July and later missed the second match as well. An MRI scan on Wednesday confirmed he had a tear in his hamstring. The PCB said he was injured last week during a training session in Derby.
After being ruled out of the tour, Sohail said, "I was looking forward to the ODIs as part of my aim to contribute to the team's success and strengthen my position in the team." "I am disappointed that my tour has been cut short, but I will return to Lahore and undergo a rehabilitation program so that I can make a full recovery for the 2021-22 season."
Sohail, who made his international debut in 2013, is regarded as one of Pakistan's finest batsmen, but he has never been able to cement his place. In 2015, he was "scared" in his Christchurch hotel room and returned home without playing for Pakistan after a pleasant experience.
He was named in the Test squad for New Zealand earlier this year, but missed a training session and practice match due to a thumb injury. He later came to play both the Tests and scored 3, 9, 1 and 15 before being dropped in all formats.
In the last eight years, he has played 16 Tests (847 runs at 32.57), 42 ODIs (1685 at 46.80) and 14 T20Is (210 at 19.09, strike rate of 102.94).
Last year he pulled out of a tour of England due to the Covid-19 pandemic as he chose not to remain in isolation, a mandatory quarantine period for all foreigners traveling to the UK.
Pakistan's three-match ODI series begins in Cardiff today, followed by three T20Is on July 16, 18 and 20. The team will leave for West Indies on 21 July where they will play five T20Is and two Tests from 27 July. till 24 August.