Shoaib and Asif miss out

Shoaib Akhtar has been ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury © Getty Images

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Pakistan pace duo Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have finally been ruled out of Pakistan's World Cup squad through injury.

Shoaib has been struggling with the knee injury that forced him to withdraw from Pakistan’s South African tour in January, while Asif has been labouring with an elbow knock picked up on the same trip.

Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami have been drafted into the squad as replacements, but with the Pakistan squad due to fly out to Caribbean on Thursday, the pair will not join up with their team-mates until a later date.

The news comes after several weeks of speculation over the fitness of Shoaib and Asif, who also hit the headlines last year after both tested positive for Nandrolone only to have their lengthy bans quashed on appeal in December.

Chief selector Wasim Bari said: "Shoaib Akhtar and Asif are both out due to injury and we have decided to replace them with Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami. 

"Their injuries will take another two weeks to heal so, after consultation with Inzamam-ul-Haq, we have taken the final decision. 

Mohammad Asif's elbow injury has ended his ICC World Cup aspirations © Getty Images

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"The Pakistan team is capable enough to deal with this critical situation."

Coach Bob Woolmer added: "It is a huge blow.

"But their injuries would have taken more time and we couldn't wait any more.

"We now know where we stand. It is true that our chances have been hit badly by the absence of these two key bowlers but we will have to show the kind of spirit and team unity which can win us a big event like the World Cup.”

Inzamam admitted that the loss of the influential duo was a blow to his team’s aspirations at the showpiece tournament, but added that he felt their replacements would be able to make an impact in the Caribbean.

“This is not an ideal situation for us. We are leaving for the West Indies under tremendous pressure," Inzamam said.

"But we have shown in the past that through team spirit we can overcome any crisis situation.

“Mohammad Sami and Arafat may not be as good as Akhtar and Asif, but they'll try their level best to make up for the loss."

He continued: "We could not take the risk on Shoaib and Asif as the deadline was approaching. We had to take a decision.

"It's up to the available players now to show their mettle so that we can achieve the best possible results in the World Cup."

Pakistan play hosts West Indies in the opening match of the World Cup on March 13.