Worcestershire lose Tanvir services

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Worcestershire have abandoned hopes of involving Pakistan paceman Sohail Tanvir in their Friends Life t20 campaign because of ongoing visa problems.

The Royals had initially been hopeful of Tanvir being available for their entire Midlands/Wales/West Group schedule as a late replacement for compatriot Saeed Ajmal.

Worcestershire's attempts at bolstering their squad for the Friends Life t20 have suffered another blow as Sohail Tanvir is unavailable

But problems started when he was drafted in as a replacement for his country’s one-day series in Sri Lanka.

It led to the 27-year-old having to return to his homeland while Worcestershire attempted to solve the visa problems and, with just four group games remaining, the county have opted not to pursue the issue.

Worcestershire chief executive David Leatherdale said: “It has been well documented that obtaining visa for overseas professionals is becoming more and more difficult.

“We are very disappointed that Sohail won’t be joining us. But with just four group matches remaining, and still no guarantee that the visa process has been completed in Pakistan, his stay with the club is no longer practical.

“We thank Sohail for his efforts in doing everything he could in order to obtain his visa and wish him every success in the future.”

It means that Worcestershire have only one overseas player for their Twenty20 programme in Australian opener Phil Hughes.

But they are still on course to qualify for the quarter-finals after winning four of their opening six encounters.

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