Rawalpindi Express to slow down by Cricketarchive Staff Reporter

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Player:

Shoaib Akhtar

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DateLine: 10th October 2006

 

"Rawalpindi Express" Shoaib Akhtar is planning to slow down. Akhtar wants to play in fewer ODIs to prolong his Test career. He has arrived at this decision as a result of his frequent injury breaks.

 

"You get frustrated watching the game on TV and sitting at home. It is impossible to play all around the year for a fast bowler," Shoaib said in New Delhi on Monday. "The Pakistan Cricket Board and team management should think about it and play me for more Tests and in less number of one-day internationals," he said.

 

The 31-year-old fast bowler said his tendency to go flat out whenever he took the field has made him vulnerable to injuries. "The pain will always be a problem for me. There will not be a single day when I will be able to bowl without pain," he said.

 

Shoaib, who was out of action since March following stress fracture in his ankle during the series against India and knee replacement surgery, also regretted missing on the Tests in England before making an emphatic comeback in the ODIs against the Englishmen. "Our bowling was weak. I missed the Test series which I was looking forward to. I had really worked hard for it. But in the end, I got charged in the ODIs," he said.