Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has recovered fully from a knee injury to win a place in Pakistans 15-man squad for this months series against Australia announced in Karachi on Monday. The 33-year-old paceman was ruled out of last months Test series against Sri Lanka - which was abandoned after a deadly attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore - because of the knee injury, which healed without surgery.
Pakistan are due to play five one-day and one Twenty20 match against the world champions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from April 22 to May 7. "I would say that he (Akhtar) impressed with his fitness in the tests we conducted last week," said chief selector Abdul Qadir. "After the tests, the trainer and doctor gave a very good fitness report on Akhtar."
Qadir said a fit Akhtar would bolster the squad in the series. "Now its up to Akhtar to not only remain fit but also perform. I have been saying this and I repeat that a fit Akhtar is an asset for Pakistans team," said Qadir, a former leg-spinner.
Akhtar missed the Test series against Sri Lanka in February and March due to his knee injury. The series was called off after gunmen ambushed the Sri Lanka teams convoy in Lahore, Pakistan on March 3, killing eight Pakistanis.
He was dropped from the squad after he managed just one wicket in the two limited-over internationals against Sri Lanka in February and was not part of the squad to Bangladesh - a tour postponed over security fears following an armed mutiny in the country. Akhtar, however, passed demanding fitness tests last week, which paved his return to the team and said he was raring to go against Australia.
"I cant wait to take the field against Australia," Akhtar told AFP. "I am fit and am gaining rhythm, and once I play the first match I will be at my best rhythm," he said. The controversial paceman said he would do his best to disprove his critics.
National cricket captain Younus Khan told reporters in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, said the team would focus on victory. "We will try to win the series, taking advantage of the kangaroos defeat to South Africa," Khan said after visiting reconstruction work in areas devastated in an October 2005 earthquake. "The Australian series is important and all players will give their best to give the nation a gift of victory," he said.
Squad: Younus Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal
Itinerary:
-- April 22 - First ODI, Dubai
-- April 24 - Second ODI, Dubai
-- April 27 - Third ODI, Abu Dhabi
-- May 1 - Fourth ODI, Abu Dhabi
-- May 3 - Fifth ODI, Abu Dhabi
-- May 7 - Only Twenty20 international, Dubai.
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