Pakistan's Akhtar out of World Twenty20 by AFP

---

Player:	Shoaib Akhtar
Event:	ICC World Twenty20 2009

---

DateLine: 21st May 2009

 

Pakistan on Thursday pulled fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar out of next month's World Twenty20 tournament in England due to injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board said.

 

The 33-year-old missed last week's conditioning camp in a luxury Pakistani hill resort due to injuries on his groin and his omission had been widely expected after he missed the first of three practice matches here Wednesday.

 

"We have pulled him out of the World Twenty20 on the basis of a medical report given by our doctor which said that Akhtar needs 10 days to recover from groin wounds," the PCB said.

 

"The medical board has reported that Akhtar was suffering from genital viral warts," it said in a statement, adding that he would need another 10 days of care and treatment.

 

Akhtar becomes the first casualty of the 12-team event for which final 15-man squads were announced on May 5.

 

The PCB said it had written to the technical committee of the World Twenty20 for the right to name a replacement after the fast bowler's fitness was assessed by a three-man panel on Thursday.

 

Coach Intikhab Alam backed Akhtar's omission on fitness grounds.

 

"We can't keep a half-fit player for a major event," Alam told reporters.

 

"He has not done any training for the last 15-20 days and missed last week's camp. His performance is for all to judge to his form, so we had to take this decision and fortunately it happened before the event started," said Alam.

 

Akhtar is likely to be replaced by paceman Rao Iftikhar for the second edition of the World Twenty20 which starts in England from June 5.

 

"We have sent Iftikhar's name as replacement and he attended the camp and is in good shape," said Alam.

 

Asked whether Akhtar's troubled career was over, Alam said it was up to the bowler to work on his form.

 

"He is out only for the World Twenty20 and now it's up to him to work on his fitness and earn a recall. He was selected in the squad but he failed to keep his fitness and his career depends on fitness."

 

Akhtar, plagued by injury since his debut in 1997, managed to play just four Twenty20 matches last year due to fitness and discipline problems.

 

"It's disappointing to miss out, but my best wishes are with the team and captain Younus Khan," Akhtar told AFP.

 

"I played international cricket only because of Pakistan, so I always pray for my team and country," he said.

 

Ahktar was dropped from the team after getting just one wicket in the two one-day matches internationals against Sri Lanka in February.

 

He was later ruled out of the Test series because of knee problems. The series was ultimately abandoned after gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team bus en route to the stadium in Lahore.

 

Akhtar was then included in Pakistan's squad for their five one-dayers and one Twenty20 match series in the United Arab Emirates this month.

 

He took three wickets in four one-day matches but did not complete his allotted 10 overs in any of the matches. He only bowled two overs in the one-off Twenty20 match against Australia in Dubai, conceding 18 runs.

 

The mercurial paceman was also included in the inaugural World Twenty20 squad held in South Africa in 2007 but was expelled two days before the event for assaulting team-mate Mohammad Asif with a bat.

 

Akhtar was also left out of Pakistan's squad for the World Cup held in the Caribbean in 2007 after he failed to recover from ankle and knee problems.

 

A year later, he was banned for five years following his outburst against the PCB over being axed from a central contract.

 

An appeal committee reduced the ban to 18 months but also levied a fine of seven million rupees (95,000 dollars).

(Article: Copyright © 2009 AFP)