The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is facing concerns over the prolonged recovery of young fast bowler Ihsanullah from an elbow injury that has sidelined him for over a year. The 21-year-old’s recent behavior has raised questions about his commitment to his rehabilitation program.
According to a reliable PCB source, senior officials are frustrated with Ihsanullah’s actions, particularly his contradiction of a statement made by his father. Ihsanullah’s father had visited Lahore to request that his son continue his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) rather than in his hometown of Swat. He also informed the media that Ihsanullah preferred to continue his rehab at the NCA.
However, the next day, Ihsanullah tweeted that he was comfortable with continuing his rehabilitation in Swat and did not see the need to travel to Lahore. This directly contradicted his father’s statement.
“The board officials are worried with the sincerity and hard work Ihsan is putting into his rehab program which was designed for him by experts after he was sent to the UK for an appointment with a specialist,” the source said.
The PCB had appointed an independent medical panel to review Ihsanullah’s diagnosis and treatment. The panel recommended that he continue his rehab in Swat under the supervision of an assigned trainer.
However, with fitness tests approaching before the Champions Cup domestic event, there are growing concerns about whether Ihsanullah is taking his rehab process seriously.
Ihsanullah emerged as a promising talent for Pakistan during last year’s Pakistan Super League. He was quickly integrated into the national white-ball squad for T20 and ODI matches before suffering his elbow injury.
The handling of Ihsanullah’s injury also led to the resignation of the PCB’s head of the medical panel, Dr. Sohail Saleem.
