Pakistan suffered a big jolt ahead of the first cricket Test against India with paceman Umar Gul being ruled out because of a back injury.

The Pakistan team management decided to rest Gul as a "precautionary measure" after he underwent a scan during the day.

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"He has a stress pain in the back. He consulted an orthopedic surgeon during the day and had a scan done. It is not a serious injury but we have decided to rest him as a precautionary measure," Pakistan's media manager Ehsan Malik said.

Pakistan will finalise their playing eleven for the first Test after having a look at the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch on Thursday.