Multan Sultans faces another setback as PSL 9 looms closer

As the anticipation for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine builds up, Multan Sultans find themselves grappling with a major setback. The team has been dealt a double blow with the news of their two key fast bowlers unavailable for the upcoming tournament.

Firstly, English pace bowler Reece Topley has been ruled out from the aforementioned tournament.

The England Cricket Board (ECB) declined to grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for Topley, citing a minor injury issue.

Adding to the team's woes, team owner Ali Khan Tareen confirmed in a recent podcast that the promising talent Ihsanullah will miss the entire PSL season nine due to injury. 

"PCB has informed us that Ihsanullah will miss the entire PSL," Ali said.

Previously, during an interview with Cricket Pakistan, the fast bowler talked about how he got injured. He explained what happened during the New Zealand home series, which led to his injury.

“The issue I faced, occurred during the New Zealand home series, and it happened during Ramadan. On the first day, everything went well; there was no pain in my shoulder. However, on the second day, I fell, and I didn't realize it at the time. Later, when I went to the nets for bowling, I felt pain in my elbow after putting extra force on the first ball. I played the series despite the pain. I wasn't sure what was happening, and I thought if it's a ligament issue, it can be treated. I was trying to play despite slight discomfort because the Afghanistan series was coming up, followed by the Asia Cup, and I wanted to be fit for those,” Ihsanullah revealed.

Ihsanullah, who emerged as a standout performer for Multan Sultans in the previous season, was the second-highest wicket-taker with an impressive tally of 22 wickets in just 12 innings.