Irfan not completely ruled out: Whatmore

Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore says tall left-arm pacer Muhammad Irfan still can be considered for the Tests against South Africa even as he was not named in the 28-man probables list for the series.
Irfan was also left out of the Pakistan A side that will play a three day match against the Proteas in the UAE.
Whatmore, however, said that Irfan's fitness and ability to bowl 16 to 18 overs in a day would be fully tested during a three-day match to be played between the senior team and a Pakistan A side in Lahore from Wednesday.
"We will have him bowl 16 to 18 overs in a day and see how his body copes with it the next day. They have also been concerns over his fitness level for the longer duration games," the coach said.

Whatmore said that Irfan would be playing in the three-day practice game from tomorrow as the general feeling was that he was a quality bowler capable of bowling at around 140 to 145 KPH.
"He can cause lot of problems to the opposing side but we have had concerns over his fitness level for Tests whether he can withstand a four day or five day game," he said.
"He will be tested out in three-day practice game and if he holds up well then he can be considered for the Tests as well. Because we still have to name the 15," he said.

Irfan who is nearly 7" was also dropped for the two recent tests in Zimbabwe with the same reasons given for excluding him.