Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will not be able to join his team in South Africa before the first Test in Johannesburg which starts on Thursday.

• Schedule: Pakistan in South Africa

Shoaib, cleared last month of a doping offence, was called up on Monday for South Africa after young pace bowler Umar Gul was ruled out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury.

"There have been problems with his travel schedule and he will not be able to leave before the first Test," Saleem Altaf, director of cricket operations, told Reuters.

"But he will certainly join the team before the second Test from Jan. 19," Altaf added.

Pakistan have already lost batsman Mohammad Yousuf and all-rounder Shoaib Malik for the opening Test. Yousuf is caring for his ill wife and Malik is recovering from an ankle injury.

Shoaib was not originally picked for the three-Test series as the selectors said he needed to regain match fitness and form. He was banned for two years after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone in October.

A Pakistan Cricket Board appeals committee overturned the ban on the grounds he did not take the substance knowingly.