Shoaib ruffles few feathers in talk show

Karachi:

Controversial Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar appears to be heading for another confrontation with the cricket authorities after threatening to take legal action against the national team management.

Shoaib, a centrally contracted player with the Pakistan Cricket Board, has appeared on a television talk show to be aired late on Wednesday in which he has apparently made statements that are likely to upset authorities once again.

The publicity ads of the show claim Shoaib as saying he reserves the right to take legal action against the team management (apparently for dropping him from the T20 World Cup team and raising question about his fitness).

He goes on to claim that there is a conspiracy to malign him and that he can still play for a few years for Pakistan. No stranger to controversies, Shoaib was withdrawn from the T20 World Cup squad in late May after a PCB medical panel found him to be suffering from a skin infection that needed treatment for 12 days.

His ouster from the team also led to chief selector Abdul Qadir's resignation who alleged team coach Intikhab Alam and manager Yawar Saeed were behind the move to drop Shoaib and they didn't consult the selectors on this.

Under the terms of the central contract, players are not supposed to make controversial statements in the media but by the look of it, Shoaib seems to have done it once again on the television show.

Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis though backed Shoaib to make a comeback to the team.

"Shoaib can still play for a couple of years for Pakistan and if that is possible then it is good for Pakistan cricket," Waqar told a newspaper.

"There is no doubt he is fast and is a very intelligent bowler," the former pacer added.

Shoaib, who turns 34 next month, has taken 178 wickets in 46 Tests and 223 wickets in 144 ODIs and eight wickets in seven T20 Internationals.