by Abdul Habib
20th June 2010

Following an operation on his left knee in March of this year, Pakistani all-rounder Sohail Tanvir has recently returned to the Lahore NCA to begin his rehab. He still hasn't started bowling in the nets yet but is hopeful that he will be able to return to a full training regime within a few weeks.

"I began light exercise at home about 6 weeks ago and I've been increasing the load since arriving at the NCA just over a fortnight ago. It will take some time before I can start bowling in the nets but I'm not wasting that time sitting around. I've been doing exercises in the swimming pool, some light jogging and working hard on my batting." Tanvir told Cricistan.com

Tanvir is hoping to be fully fit for the start of the ODI series against England but he realises that rushing back before he's fully fit wouldn't be a great idea.

"I'm targetting the start of the ODI series against England for my return, I'm hoping to be fully fit and available by then. But knees are very delicate and once they've been operated on you have to be very careful not to overwork them. So with that in mind it may take a little bit longer, if I dont feel confident about my fitness then I'll take more time and wait till I'm fully recovered before declaring myself fit." Tanvir exclusively told Cricistan.com

When I asked Tanvir if we'd missed his death bowling skills during the recent T20 World Cup, Tanvir agreed that Pakistan needed someone who could control the pace of the game in those final overs.

"With the injury to Gul, Pakistan needed to pick a replacement bowler who would fulfill the same role as Gul. In recent years myself and Rana Naved have been effective death bowlers and either of us could've made a difference. The fact that I was injured and Rana was unavailable did affect the team composition. Pakistan is a team renowned for shutting the opposition batsmen down in the final overs of an innings. It was painful to see us leak so many runs at the death. Aamer bowled really well but it's a lot of pressure to put on his shoulders alone, especially at his age. He could use some experience at the other end." Tanvir said to Cricistan.com

Tanvir wishes the Pakistan team the best of luck for their series against Australia and England and hopes he can be fit enough to join them before the summer is over.