Shoaib Akhtar impresses chief selector at Pentagular Cup
By Omar Khalid, IANSThursday, April 22, 2010
KARACHI - Discarded Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has catapulted himself in a perfect position to make yet another international comeback with a lethal spell in a leading domestic cricket tournament here Wednesday night.
Shoaib, 34, bowled at a fiery pace and finished with six for 52 to guide Federal Areas Leopards to devour Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Panthers by 77 runs in the Pentangular Cup at the National Stadium.
His brilliant showing forced Pakistan chief selector Mohsin Hasan Khan to say the selection committee will seriously consider Shoaib for a twin series against Australia and England in England this summer if he continued to bowl like this at the domestic level.
The enigmatic pacer is himself very pleased with his return to form and has declared that he would continue pushing for a recall in the national team.
Shoaib, who hasn’t played in international cricket for quite a while, said that he has regained full fitness and is looking to prove his mettle by continuing doing well on the domestic circuit.
“I’m hoping to make a comeback during the tour of England,” he said. “There is plenty of domestic cricket left before our teams goes to England which is why I’m confident of proving my form and fitness,” he stressed.
Shoaib said that playing in the 1999 World Cup final in England remains the most cherished moment of his international career, adding that he wants to help Pakistan win the World Cup next year.
“I want to play in next year’s World Cup and hope that Pakistan will win it,” he said.
Shoaib was rejected as a spent force by national selectors after failing to impress much on his last international comeback almost a year ago in a one-dayer against Australia in Abu Dhabi.
Since then, the pacer has shed a lot of weight and has looked pretty sharp in the two Pentangular matches he has played so far. “I just want to play for Pakistan and am working hard for it,” he said.
