Imran, Shahid and one of the doctors released

The touring Pakistan cricket team has decided to release one of the three doctors along with Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar.

An official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday that Dr Tauseef Razzaq, who went with the team as dietician and trainer, will be not be with the squad which starts preparation for the second half of the New Zealand tour for the longer versions of the games with a three-dayer against New Zealand A from Saturday.

Dr Tauseef was sent with the team primarily to look after Shoaib Akhtar who once again broke down with hamstring and groin injuries.

Dr Tauseef, who claims to have worked with basketball giants New York Knicks, had guaranteed to the PCB that Shoaib was fit and would not collapse again. It was on his recommendations the selectors had gambled with the injury-prone bowler.

But the sensitive issue revolving a promising fast bowler should not conclude with the release of Dr Tauseef. Instead he should be grilled for misleading and misguiding the establishment. It may be mentioned here that Razzaq is one of the specialists on the panel of PCB doctors.

Besides Dr Tauseef, Dr Rauf is the official doctor of the team and Dr Nauman Niaz is the computer software analyst.

The selectors have also decided to send Misbah-ul-Haq to bolster the brittle middle-order batting which looks further fragile with the news that Inzamam-ul-Haq is out of commission for at least 10 days.

Misbah, who scored 947 runs in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy is expected to leave for Auckland by Saturday.

The PCB has already flown Younis Khan, Humayun Farhat and Arshad Khan to reinforce the tourists.