Pakistan's Akhtar vows memorable India tour

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Shoaib Akhtar vowed to make the upcoming tour of India memorable after the paceman was recalled to the team for the crucial series against the arch-rivals. More... Pakistan's Akhtar vows memorable India tour AFP LAHORE, October 27: Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar vowed on Saturday to make the upcoming tour of India memorable after the paceman was recalled to the team for the crucial series against the arch-rivals. "I promise that I will do my best and give my full effort on the tour of India to help my team win both the One-dayer and Test series," Akhtar said in an interview. The 32-year-old was recalled on Friday for possibly his last tour of India after he served a ban of 13 international matches, punishment primarily for hitting his team-mate Mohd. Asif with a bat last month. Akhtar was also fined 3.4 million rupees ($56,000) after he struck fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif on the thigh after team practice in Johannesburg ahead of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup. Akhtar was placed on probation for two years, which means he could be banned for life if he again breaches the players' code of conduct. The punishment meant he missed Pakistan's Test series and four One-day matches against South Africa. He has been named in the squad for the fifth and final One-dayer against the Proteas here on Monday. Akhtar vowed that his career was back on track after the mistake which he described as something he would rather forget. "What I did was silly and happened in a fit of anger," Akhtar said. "I apologised to Asif, to the team players and to all my countrymen and now I hope that my career will not suffer again." "I have missed a lot of cricket due to injuries and other reasons, but now I want to focus on my game and do my best for the country," said Akhtar who played his last Test in South Africa in January this year. Despite the intense rivalry between the two teams, Akhtar said he is respected in India and is looking forward to the tour. "This may be my last tour so I must do something special for the fans in India so that they remember me in a good way," said Akhtar. His only complete tour of India was in 1999 when, as a newcomer to the Pakistan team, he took eight wickets in the Asian Test championship match at Calcutta - including the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid off successive deliveries. "Those were the golden moments of my career and I still want to get Tendulkar and Dravid's wickets because they are special players," said Akhtar who missed Pakistan's 2005 India tour due to injury. His last tour to India ended in ignominy after he and fellow paceman Mohammad Asif were expelled after testing positive to the banned steroid nandrolone, two days before the start of the Champions Trophy. Akhtar was banned for two years and Asif for one year before the bans were lifted on appeal. Akhtar said both the One-day and Test series will be exciting. "Since our pace attack is better than theirs I feel the balance is tilted towards Pakistan and if we bat well then we can return as winners." Pakistan leave for New Delhi on November 1 and will play the first of five One-Day Internationals at Guwahati on November 5. It will be followed by three Tests in New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore.

[King]

Good luck Akthar but I feel he is going to be a cannon fodder and will end up being rouge on the tour yet again. Someone that is so ill disciplined as Akthar can't have much success on a consistent basis.

[Ram]

Yes, memorable India tour... for the indians that is..:haha:

[King]

Akhtar said both the One-day and Test series will be exciting. "Since our pace attack is better than theirs I feel the balance is tilted towards Pakistan and if we bat well then we can return as winners."

I can feel his ego already in that statement. Watch out Asif and Gul.

[Ram]

Nowadays , when i see Shoaib giving press statements, i dont even bother to read. I just laugh. :haha: He must be renamed Joaib Jokhter.

[Rajiv]

Take it as it comes..if he does it then so be it

[gator]

the only truth in his tirade was tht this is gonna be his last tour...

[Cricketics]

i hope he get thrrashed for four fours in a row and then he picks up the wicket and tryes to hit to shoiaib malik for not setting the field properly and hence faces ban again..

[Guest Hiten.]

i hope he get thrrashed for four fours in a row and then he picks up the wicket and tryes to hit to shoiaib malik for not setting the field properly and hence faces ban again..

this lunatic might end up doing that :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: good scenario there tics :giggle:

[Bongosamaj]

I hope Akhtar does well. For Akhtar doing well is one of the grandest sights in cricket field and it'll make for a good credible series for our batsmen. Plus give Tendu yet another excuse to average in the pathetic-30s and get away with it scot-free.

[Bumper]

There is not enough room in the Pakistani dressing room for Shoiab Akhtar's ego. If he performs, his bloated ego will only get bigger, making his presence all the more discomforting to his peers. If he doesnt, he'll vent his frustrations out in a manner thats bound to get him into trouble again. But he is an interesting character, will definitely liven up the upcoming series.

[retterimp]

hello guys, first time here...love bowling so have joined to chat about that...agree with bongo, shoaib in full form is an awesome sight...wouldnt mind him picking some wickets i.e. stumps flying all around, as long as india wins

[Rajiv]

retterimp Welcome mate..kindly introduce yourself in the intro thread

[Rajiv]

A little untold episode regarding this. This was back in 1999 ' Mumbai and I bought my new Pentium III 450 Mhz so I could play BLC ' 99 I was regular on IRC chat, and I came across a cricket channel a day before that Kolkata Test I was chatting with some fella who was highly confident about a nobody called Shoaib Aktar, I mean no one in India except the cricket fraternity knew about this guy before this match I never knew about him too, so I dismissed this guys claim and told him Sachin will take care of him. He kept telling me about his pace and I kept dismissing his claims We all know what happened in that test, I know things have changed but I never ever will contradict anyone like that The same goes for Pakistani players, you never know what Indian bowler can be troublesome

[jf1gp_1]

All the best to Pak team, hope Akhtar can walk the talk.

[novpj]

Akhtar has a record of performing when he comes back. He likes to get the fan's hope up and then does something stupid. Its good that he might play the 5th game against SA that way he can perform well and flop on the Indian tour. Looking forward to him, Asif and Afridi being on the same team - great team dynamics.

[Gaurav]

Akhtar was also fined 3.4 million rupees ($56,000

) Does he have that kind of money? Or was it paper fine?

[siddhu]

Akhtar has a record of performing when he comes back. He likes to get the fan's hope up and then does something stupid. Its good that he might play the 5th game against SA that way he can perform well and flop on the Indian tour. Looking forward to him' date=' Asif and Afridi being on the same team - great team dynamics.[/quote'] u know it would be more fun to see, when Shoaib is bowling and Afridi drops a catch... immediately followed by Asif dropping a catch of Shoaibs bowling...:hysterical::hysterical: after that what follows will make the tour more memorable..:hysterical::hysterical:

[Dirty_South]

^^ :giggle:

[PaiN_KiLLeR]

Jeff Lawson must've doubled his medical insurance cover after Shoaib got selected.