A couple of minutes later, he sprinted toward the batsman
— Mohammad Hafeez — and tried hurling the new ball with express pace but the
opener comfortably drove it away. Akhtar just stood there for a few seconds,
trying to catch his breath.
If the enigmatic fast bowler still has some fire left in
his belly, he is hiding it very well.
Experts including Imran Khan, the former Pakistan
captain, are backing him to play against India. The bowler, himself, is also
very keen to have a crack at the home team. But so far the signs are not very
heartening for Akhtar.
After including him in their 15-man World Cup squad,
Pakistan have used him in just three matches, overlooking him while picking the
playing eleven for their last four games including the quarterfinal against
West Indies in Dhaka.
Akhtar, 35, completed his full quote of ten overs in just
one those three games - against Sri Lanka when he played an important role in
Pakistan's 11-run triumph over the co-hosts. But in Pakistan's very next game
he gave away 70 off 9 including a 28-run over that has forced the team
management to keep him out of the line-up.
Even Akhtar's emotional announcement that he will retire
after the ongoing World Cup failed to make the officials change their mind.
But in spite of the repeated snubs, Akhtar remains one of
the main talking points in the lead up to the eagerly-awaited World Cup
semifinal against India.
On Sunday, as Pakistan's players took part in a training
sessions the photographers on duty kept clicking Akhtar as he bowled and even when
he wasn't in action.
The media, especially local TV channels and some
newspapers are obsessed with the Akhtar issue and are repeating the same
question again and again: Whether Pakistan will recall him for the big game
against India? So far the team sources say that Akhtar's inclusion in the
playing eleven remains highly unlikely.
However, the player received a vote of confidence from
his vice-captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, here on Sunday.
"If he does play in the coming matches, I feel it
will give us a psychological advantage," Misbah told reporters here after
his team's training session here.
"Shoaib Akhtar is a class bowler. He has performed
for Pakistan on a number of occasions including the 1999 World Cup (when the
team lost to Australia in the final)," he added.
Misbah said that Pakistan are benefiting from Akhtar,
even though he has been out of action for quite some time. "Batsmen
prepare themselves when they face him at the nets."
