Shoaib Akhtar may make int’l return with Afro-Asia Cup

KARACHI: Next month’s Afro-Asia Cup in India may receive a much-needed pace injection as Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will be seriously considered for selection in the Asian squad.

Well-placed sources told ‘The News’ on Sunday that Shoaib is one of the five national cricketers who have been recommended by Pakistani officials for selection in the Asian team for the Afro-Asia Cup to be played in the South Indian cities of Bangalore and Chennai from June 6-10.

Pakistan’s new captain Shoaib Malik, batting maestro Mohammad Yousuf, flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi and the fit-again Abdul Razzaq are the leading Pakistani players in the run to make it in the Asian all-star team in Afro-Asia Cup’s second edition. Medium pacer Mohammad Asif, who missed the World Cup in the Caribbean because of fitness problems, might also be considered.

Sources said that former Pakistan Test opener Mohsin Hassan Khan would push for the case of the Pakistani stars when a four-man selection committee would meet in Dhaka later this week to finalise the Asian squad.

Mohsin, a former national junior coach, was recently nominated on the selection committee by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Other members of the Selection Committee are ASM Fauque from Bangladesh, Chetan Chauhan from India and Lalith Kaluperuma from Sri Lanka.

The news that Shoaib Akhtar would be in contention for the Afro-Asia Cup is interesting considering the fast bowler’s decision to make himself unavailable for a three-match ODI series against World Cup finalists Sri Lanka to be played in Abu Dhabi from May 18-22.

Shoaib, 31, told national selectors last month that he needed more time to attain full match fitness and asked them not to consider him for a national training camp held in preparation for the series against Sri Lanka in Lahore.

The Rawalpindi-born pacer was forced to miss the World Cup because of fitness problems. He has been dogged by injuries in recent years and in fact has just played five days of international in the past one year.

Shoaib recently announced he was planning an international comeback in September after getting fully fit.

Sources said that one of the reasons behind Shoaib’s expected participation in the Afro-Asia Cup is his star value. The tearaway pacer is regarded as one of the biggest stars in international cricket and organisers and sponsors of the Afro-Asia Cup believe his presence in the contest would help raise its profile.

The inaugural Afro-Asia Cup which was held in South Africa turned out to be damp squib and this year the event’s organisers are hoping to make it a success.

It is expected that several top players from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would turn up to represent Asia against an all-star African team comprising of players from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

According to the programme, three day-night matches will be played on June 6 (Bangalore), June 9 and June 10 (Chennai). A Twenty20 game would be played between the two sides would be played on June 5.

The Afro-Asia Cup would offer a prize basket of US$100,000 with the winning team in each match pocketing US$25,000. Participating players will be paid $5000 for each match.