The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : `I was dropped because of injury'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2007
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`I was dropped because of injury'

Karachi: Controversial Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar insisted he was dropped from Pakistan's World Cup team due to injury and not because he had flunked a private dope test in London.

Akhtar and his new ball partner Mohammad Asif were ruled out of the World Cup on the day the Pakistan squad was due to fly to the West Indies for the tournament.

The Pakistan Cricket Board said they had fitness problems but speculations have persisted that both had failed private dope tests for which they had gone to London.

Akhtar, however, vehemently denied the allegations. ``I was dropped from the team because of my injury. We underwent no private dope tests,'' he insisted.

Akhtar, who is training under Mudassar Nazar, the chief coach at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, said that he had given himself four months to recover from a knee injury. ``I have a great equation with Mudassar who has worked with me before and understands me as a person and bowler. I have given myself four months to get back into action probably in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa,'' Akhtar said.

``After the disappointment of not being there for the team in the World Cup, my main target now is to be fighting fit for our tour of India in November this year. I missed the last tour there in 2005 because of fitness problems. I want to play in India and deliver something,'' he said.

To prove a point

Akhtar said he was keen to prove to everyone that he was not a spent force and was happy working with Mudassar. — PTI

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