The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Pakistan good enough to win series: Akhtar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 21, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

Pakistan good enough to win series: Akhtar

NEW DELHI, FEB. 20. The Pakistan team is good enough to clinch the forthcoming Test series against India despite his absence, feels enigmatic speedster Shoaib Akhtar.

Akhtar has pulled out of the series citing a hamstring injury but hopes to be fit for the one-day series to serve his country.

"They have great players and if they put it together, we have a great chance to win,'' Akhtar told BBC Asian Network.

Claiming that the benefits of the Australia tour would reflect in the series, Akhtar said: "Our team is a strong unit after being beaten by Australia — we learnt a lot from that and that will help us.''

The ``Rawalpindi Express'' also regretted missing the Test series and said, ``I always look for the bigger tours and the bigger games to perform. That was such an opportunity. You do something and you make yourself a big name. If you don't do it you make yourself a bad name.''

Akhtar, however, could not specify when he would be fit to serve the team.

``I'm there to serve my country as best I could but if I'm fully fit I can do a better job,'' he said.

Admitting that he was not fully fit on the tour of Australia, Akhtar said injuries were part and parcel for fast bowlers in modern day cricket.

``We always take chances, we always play with niggles and with injuries. I don't know any fast bowler who doesn't. But what people don't understand is a fast bowler can't play every game because it's too hard to do that," he said. — UNI

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