According to highly placed sources, the selectors and team management have decided in principle to 'rest' Mushtaq, who is carrying a badly bruised knee.

``That injury is not allowing Mushtaq to get rhythm in his bowling. He is struggling badly and even limping at times,'' a source confided to Dawn at the Arbab Niaz Stadium. ``He has been unsuccessful against Australia chiefly because he is not fit. In fact, he should not have been played here.''

They maintained that Mushtaq informed the team management that he was fit to play. ``You have to trust your senior players. Only the player himself can declare whether he was fit or unfit in case of internal injury.''

Mushtaq had told Dawn a day before the start of the second Test that he was 70% fit and would play if his fitness increased by another 10%.

Shakeel is being preferred over Mushtaq because of his ability to bowl long spells. In addition to this, the 32-year-old from Rawalpindi mesmerized the Australians with a match haul of 10 for 169 earlier in the week.

Besides Mushtaq, Mohammad Zahid is also likely to miss the bus after he aggravated his groin injury on Friday. Question mark also hangs over Wasim Akram who missed the Test because of a sore throat and flu.

The national selection committee, which was here watching the third day's proceedings, are perplexed on who would replace Akram and Zahid.

Mohammad Akram, Shahid Nazir and Mohammad Akram were being considered for selection. But the problem the selectors are facing is that Nazir has been selected in the Pakistan A team for the tour of New Zealand while there was a division in the Pakistan camp on Aqib Javed. Mohammad Akram has failed to deliver the goods in whatever opportunities he got.

Mini-world Cup Squad

Saqlain Mushtaq has confirmed his availability for Dhaka's mini-World Cup, a spokesman of the national selection committee told Dawn.

The team is likely to be named in the coming week.