Rawalpindi, Feb.18 (ANI): Out-of-favour Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who is popularly referred to as the "Rawalpindi Express" still dreams of captaining the national squad, though he has not played any international cricket for more than nine months.
Akhtar has not featured in a five-day match for Pakistan for more than two years, and many cricket followers and scribes around the globe are asking the question "Will we ever see Shoaib Akhtar in a Pakistan shirt again" ?
Akhtar who is currently skippering Khan Research Laboratories in the ongoing Royal Bank of Scotland Cup, in place of the unfit Mohammad Wasim has so far bowled only 13.2 overs in the competition, although this can partly be attributed to the squad rotation policy in force at KRL.
Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net from Rawalpindi ahead of the crucial clash against Habib Bank, Akhtar said: "I've been working really hard on getting match fit in the pre tournament camp we held and am playing currently in the Royal Bank of Scotland Cup and have been feeling good."
"The most important thing is to get some cricket under my belt. We are unbeaten and second in the table with one game to play against Habib Bank" stated Akhtar.
Whilst Akhtar, 34, has been given the responsibility of captaining his domestic team, he has never been entrusted with the opportunity to captain his country despite featuring in nearly 200 matches for Pakistan over a period of more than 12 years.
It is something that he hopes to reverse before hanging up his boots.
"Captaining your country is the dream of every cricketer and I am no different. As a young boy, when I first started playing cricket, it was my dream to captain my country. I hope that one day I will be given that chance before I retire as it's still my dream to captain Pakistan," Akhtar said.
Akhtar was also in no mood to believe that his international career is over and stated that his aim is to win back his place in the Pakistan team.
"My aim and goal is to win back my place in the Pakistan team and I strongly believe that I will be back. You know things change very quickly in Pakistan cricket and I'm confident that my chance will come again. I can't say whether it will be the Twenty/20 World Cup or later in the summer in England, but I believe my chance will come," he said. (ANI)
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