Ali Khan ruled out of World cup qualifiers with a forearm injury

In an unfortunate turn of events, the United States of America (USA) fast bowler Ali Khan has been ruled out of the rest of the T20 World Cup Qualifier with a right forearm injury. 

Khan sustained the injury during the USA's opening game of the tournament against Jersey on Monday (July 11). 

Ali Khan was bowling the penultimate over of the first innings, in which Jersey batter Ben Ward drove a full delivery straight back to him. 

The skiddy 31-year-old pacer got his hands up to protect his face while also attempting to catch the ball, but it struck the outside of his forearm, just above his wrist, and went away for two runs.

As soon as Khan was struck, he looked in severe pain, and USA's physiotherapist ran onto the field to check on his injury. 

After a few minutes, Khan went to his mark again but failed to grip the ball properly. 

Then, he went off the field and took no further part in the game. 

However, the USA managed to win by eight wickets, chasing 155 successfully, riding on Steven Taylor's century. 

USA's left-arm fast bowler Saurabh Netravalkar said the team wants to qualify for the ICC men's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia for injured Ali Khan. 

"My heart goes out to Ali (Khan). We want to do it for him. We want to make it to the World Cup for him. That's what we promised him, and we'll do our best." said Netravalkar at the post-match presentation after his team's win over Singapore. 

However, USA Cricket has not announced a replacement for Ali in their T20 World Cup Qualifier squad. So, it is highly unlikely that a player would arrive in time to be available for USA's final Group A match against host Zimbabwe on Thursday. 

According to the sources, the options being considered are New Jersey fast bowler Jessy Singh and Florida fast bowler Kyle Phillip.

In CPL 2018, Ali Khan bagged 16 wickets to help his team with the title. Considering his potential and performances with the ball for TKR since 2018, the franchise decided to re-sign him for the 2022 edition, which is set to start on August 31. 

However, the fracture in his right forearm has put his participation in the CPL 2022 in serious doubt.

The Pakistan-born bowler will fly this week from Zimbabwe back to Texas, where he is scheduled for surgery. He is expected to be out of the game for minimum six weeks.