Akhtar urged to maintain training routine

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been termed an integral part of the team’s One-Day International and Twenty20 squad.

LEEDS: Although being overlooked for Pakistan’s Test series against Australia and England, fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been termed an integral part of the team’s One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 squad by the team’s fitness trainer David Dwyer.

Shoaib made his international comeback after an absence of over a year when he played in the Asia Cup and also represented Pakistan in the two-match Twenty20 series against Australia that preceded the ongoing Test series. While his fitness levels were questioned, and termed the reason for his omission from the Test squad, his return to the international arena impressed Dwyer.

“Shoaib’s lost a lot of weight and that’s encouraging,” Dwyer told The Express Tribune. “He’s definitely not in peak fitness and can’t be compared to the fast-bowlers like Mitchell Johnson and James Anderson as these guys are fit and able to cope with the demands of Test cricket. However, it’ll take time as it gets more difficult to maintain those fitness levels as life progresses.”

Shoaib’s training programme, according to Dwyer, was altered for the fast-bowler as he was making his return after a long absence but reminded him that it was up to the individual to maintain the routine and persist with the programme to seek improvements.

“The onus has got to come from Shoaib himself. With every performance, the mind may tick over and ask him if he wants to keep doing it. And for that, he needs to come up with the discipline that yes, he wants to strive for higher levels and keep playing international cricket.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2010.