The Victorian Bushrangers’ campaign in the KFC T20 Big Bash suffered a setback when Sohail Tanvir pulled out after failing to recover from an injured knee.

"It was a golden opportunity and of course this is a huge loss for me and my cricket but I don't want to take a risk on my injury," Tanvir told Cricdb.com. "As much as I feel good with my fitness, I have to listen to the advice of my doctor, Sohail Saleem, who has been working on my knee injury for few months."

Tanvir, who played for the Southern Redbacks last season, was expected to feature in the Victorian Bushrangers' first match at the Gabba on Monday against the Queensland Bulls. Tanvir played in four Twenty20 matches last season and picked up only two wickets at 6.50.

The rehabilitation can take up to weeks but the left-arm bowler is hopeful of returning to the Pakistan squad for the five-match ODI series against Australia next month.

"As per the doctor's advice, I need another two to three weeks to be fully recovered," Tanvir said.

Tanvir was the second overseas player signed by the Victorian Bushrangers replacing Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan. The Bushrangers will rely heavily on the services of West Indian allrounder Dwayne Bravo who had a great tour of Australia.