Karachi, Jan 15 (IANS) Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir has vowed to get fit for the third season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the ICC World Twenty20 after missing his team’s limited-overs series against Australia due to a knee injury.
Tanvir, who was the best bowler of the inaugural IPL edition in 2008, was overlooked from Pakistan’s one-day and Twenty20 squads as he was unable to recover from the knee problems that has kept him sidelined for the last few months.

Tanvir has said that the knee ligament problem that he has been suffering from in recent weeks had not healed sufficiently and he was therefore ruled out of the one-day and Twenty20 matches in Australia.

“I was hopeful that I would be fit for the matches in Australia, but unfortunately the knee is not 100 percent right. I discussed the situation with the selectors and we thought it’s best that I rest,” Tanvir told pakpassion.net.

The Rawalpindi-born player has been suffering from a knee ligament injury that occurred whilst he was doing some fielding drills at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore but he was hopeful that he would be fit for the one-day series against Australia.

“The medical experts have given me the go ahead to start playing again from January 18, but the first one dayer in Brisbane is on January 22, which meant that I wouldn’t have had enough time to get some match practice under my belt,” said Tanvir.

Tanvir, however, is excited about all the upcoming cricket series for Pakistan in 2010 and hopes to be able to play a major role in a busy schedule.

“Missing the games in Australia is a big blow for me, but I didn’t want to risk playing when not fully match fit. I am confident that I will be fully fit and ready for the matches in the UAE next month and then of course the Twenty20 World Cup in May if selected.”