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Akhtar lacks commitment, says Pakistan captain Malik
By Rizwan Ali
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 23 - 01 - 2009

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik accused fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar of poor fielding during the side's 161-run loss to Sri Lanka in their second limited-overs international.
The result leveled the three-match series after Pakistan won the first game by eight wickets Tuesday. The final match will be played in Lahore on Saturday.
Malik said Akhtar's bowling was adequate but questioned the fast bowler's fielding. “The commitment which I need from him in the field is not there,” Malik said.
The 33-year-old Akhtar made an unimpressive comeback to One-Day International cricket after 14 months on the sidelines due to injuries and disciplinary issues. The once-dominant bowler took just one wicket in the two One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka, conceding 88 runs from 13 overs – bowling seven overs in the first match and six in the second.
“You need 11 players to lift a team,” Malik said. “He (Akhtar) needs to bowl 10 overs with the same speed and then I also want him to field for 50 overs.”
Malik, who was fined 20 percent of his match fee because of his team's slow over rate Wednesday, added that Akhtar needs to justify his place on the team.
“We have to move forward and look to other youngsters,” Malik said. “I will definitely talk to management and selectors because there are quite a number of good fast bowlers who deserve a chance.”
Akhtar, nicknamed Rawalpindi Express, is among the Pakistan Cricket Board's 27 centrally contracted players.
Malik said Akhtar had worked hard before he was named to the squad of 15 for the series against Sri Lanka. “He was in good form during the recent first-class matches in Pakistan and if you see his past performance he had been effective on any type of wicket,” Malik said. “(But) cricket has now changed a lot. If you are not 100 percent fit, it gets difficult.”
Lanka revises India schedule
The central town of Dambulla will host just one match instead of two during India's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, the two cricket boards said in a statement on Thursday.
Dambulla, which was due to hold the first two matches of the five-match one-day series, will now host only the opening game on Jan. 28.
The remaining four matches and a Twenty20 international will be played in Colombo during the brief tour, which ends on Feb. 10.
The first and fifth one-dayer will be day games, while the other matches will be played under lights. The series was finalized to partly fill the gap created by India's cancelled tour of Pakistan in January-February following the Mumbai attacks in November.
Sri Lanka Cricket on Thursday awarded Nimbus Sports International the worldwide rights to broadcast India's tour of the island.
Revised schedule: Jan. 28 - 1st ODI, Dambulla; Jan. 31 - 2nd ODI, Premadasa stadium, Colombo (D/N); Feb. 3 - 3rd ODI, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (D/N); Feb. 5 - 4th ODI, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (D/N); Feb. 8 - 5th ODI, Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo; Feb. 10 - Twenty20 international, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (D/N).


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